Colonel Bassad stood around our unconscious bodies, unfazed by the Colonial Marines' surprise appearance. As King Billy tossed Arctic Bomber her Neo Contra Rifle, which she was able to catch in spite of her condition, he demanded to know why an Earth soldier would even think of turning his back on both the United States and the entire human race by conspiring with a cruel being like Dr. Venom. There had to be a reason other than just endless riches. Fortunately for us, Bassad was above putting a bullet through each of our heads before explaining the entire story from square one. He wanted us to know all about it now so that by the time he and his personal army have killed us, we would not have to see the outcome of his efforts on both earthly worlds. King Billy thought it was a sickening excuse to make everything dramatic, but he kept it in his head and listened on anyways.

Bassad: "The first thing I learned upon making a deal with Dr. Venom aboard his Bacterion flagship was that we're both alike: the people and the government were fearful of our powers, and only wanted them so we wouldn't be so much a threat."Blaze Bomber: "I thought you and your co-workers at Weyland-Yutani wanted us Contras dead because you feared we'd turn against mankind, which we would never do at any point in our lives. The holy power deters evil, so to do just that would be to destroy ourselves instead..."Arctic Bomber: "Yeah, what Blaze said...We'd rather die than turn evil!"Bassad: "That was to keep governmental agencies, let alone the CIA, from working against us. What we didn't want anybody to find out was that you and your friends are the only obstacles standing between us and our ultimate goal: to run planets Earth and Bomber with the Bacterions at our disposal. It is obvious you will not join our cause as we're both determined to end terrorism, so that's why we kept trying to kill all of you, even the ones you care deeply about as if they were part of your little family. Only by restoring Dr. Venom to full power shall our dream come true; in fact, we made a deal in which he would have Primus Star, Kanatia Star, Mazone Star, and planet Gradius under his reign, and we'd be given planets Earth and Bomber in return."(He paused momentarily to walk around us in dramatic fashion.)Bassad: "I promised to fulfill his end of the bargain first by bringing your worthless corpses before him, on behalf of Carter Burke and Admiral Ares of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. Thus, to ensure we would succeed, he shared some of his power with me and the Contra Killers, which enabled us to amplify our arsenal tenfold. Before we arrived in the Bomber Nebula, I passed myself off as just another Bomberman so nobody on board the Interstellar Diamond and its neighboring colony - which you probably know by now as the Celestial Pearl, but it matters little - would even suspect our real intentions, much less my own. Now you know the truth, it's time for your final history lesson about why the Earth needs Dr. Venom as our omnipotent Bacterion god."King Billy (sarcastically): "Oh, joy. We've been dyin' to learn it all before you kill us."Bassad: "SILENCE! Do not mock the almighty Dr. Venom or you shall be damned forever to oblivion!"

Spread Garnet, Laser Amethyst, and Homing Jasper kept their weapons at the ready, forcing all of us to keep still as Carter Burke arrived in his personal shuttle. He, like Bassad, wasn't too happy about us blowing a bunch of their "precious cargo" out of existence.

Burke: "I wasn't kidding when I said the world doesn't stand a chance without Bacterion technology, and yet you shamelessly reject my warning. Their warships are just as brilliant as the alien Xenomorphs, and we intend to keep it all that way."Lt. Jaguar: "Burke, you and Bassad are a disgrace to your own uniforms. When we're through, you and your followers, including Admiral Ares, are looking at life in intergalactic prison!"Burke: "Pitiful lieutenant! You WILL respect your superiors, and that includes all of your soldiers - especially Corporals Jimbo and Sully - and every last one of your space colonies' civilians!"Lt. Jaguar: "Not if you're abusing authority in terms of killing innocent people and selling out to the Bacterions, as we can clearly see!"Burke: "Then you're all lousy soldiers, fighting a lost cause. You never could take an extra step to do what was absolutely necessary to ensure our planet would be ultimately free of terrorism's cruel grasp on our lives. And that goes double for the so-called Contras and their friends, always thinking they're doing the right thing to 'prevent the deaths of countless civilians' by destroying our government property. That, as a matter of fact, is a severe violation of the laws that bind us all!"Bill: "Are you freakin' insane, Burke?!"Lance: "Yeah! You're the terrorists violating the laws by deliberately stealing some of the Bacterion warships and sending them to kill us with blatant disregard to public safety!"Bill: "Then again, it was General Shepherd's doing back when he was still alive, but they still count as war crimes! And don't get me started on the Killer Mohawks that Shepherd hired to kill us out of desperation..."Burke: "I don't know what you're talking about."Me: "You heard us, you Bacterion-worshipping bastards!"Ami: "And look how low you stoop, threatening to kill us right now while we're down..."Bassad: "Enough pointless gibberish! Both the Earth and Gradius have squandered the opportunity to harness Bacterion technology by deeming them as a threat to public safety. I feel the same way Dr. Venom does, and thus he will guide us to ensure our campaign's ultimate success."

[End BGM][Suspense BGM: Environmental Intrigue (Metroid Fusion)]

(FLASHBACK)You probably know his full story fairly accurately, but I'll explain anyway as he told me. Indeed he attempted to overthrow the Gradian government, which led to his arrest in Gradian year 6664. I suppose Professor Ein failed to mention the difference planet Gradius had in comparison to Earth and Bomber, but I digress. Anyway, Venom conspired with the Bacterions the following year since his banishment, though only insofar as to escape the prison planet Sard after his failed coup d'etat to overthrow the Gradian government. In return, they assisted him in the plot to attack Gradius and the neighboring planets...but the accursed Gradian Space Agency sent in Special Colonel James Burton, who piloted an experimental ship called the Metalion, to thwart him. Venom was declared KIA, but some years later he reappeared to lead the recreated Salamander force in his next attempt towards the destruction of planet Gradius, but he was again defeated.

Over 200 years later, Venom once again began his attack on Gradius, but this time he set his sights on killing James Burton in the past, as he had died in 6718. Had it not been for that meddlesome descendant of his, David Burton, Venom's joint operation - with the recreated Gofer at the helm in the past - would have been successful. Instead, it ended in failure and Venom's inevitable demise once again. However, everything will soon change when we restore him, and your worthless corpses forever obliterated! And by the way, while it's the year 20XX in the Solar System and Bomber Nebula, it's actually 8010 in the Metalion Star System where planet Gradius is located.(END FLASHBACK)

Blaze Bomber: "So there's a lot about Gradian history even we don't know much about...at least, not outside the Gradius series."Arctic Bomber: "What I still don't get is: why the hell do you want the four Chrono Crystal shards?"Bassad: "I see you're too weakened from battle to piece the story together on such short notice, but nevertheless, I'm not surprised."Burke: "After we revive Dr. Venom, we'll use the crystal to not only rewrite ourselves as the gods, but to also kill James Burton in the past so that the Bacterions, along with Venom, would be free to do as they please whilst virtually unopposed."Arctic Bomber (thinking): Ugh. I did mention how much I hate time travel at some point...

At this point, we were in no condition to resume fighting, though Lt. Jaguar and his men proceeded with fending off the corrupt soldiers working for the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. While awaiting the safe return of our friends from Mazone Star, our only hope for survival would be to figure out the Contra Killers' weaknesses, especially if we expect to recover the last of our reliable Contra power-ups this night.

Mission 11: Moai territoryThe Jade Knight and Falchion Beta ships have their hands full defending the Interstellar Diamond and the Celestial Pearl colonies against the Bacterion warships to minimize the arrival of enemy reinforcements on planet Bomber. Henceforth, it is up to Vic Viper T-301 and Lord British to set Mazone Star free. We pray they will succeed in time to prevent Dr. Venom's resurrection from the dead...November 10, 20XX8:30 PM

The Vic Viper was currently locked in battle with a large plant-like abomination guarding the Mazone Dome. According to the Gradian archives the pilot scanned with his ship's AI, this monster was a reincarnation of the Choking Weed, only now it could do more than just shoot acidic spores and suck its enemies in. The tip of the iceberg, as a matter of fact, was its ability to take on a few attack forms in case of an inevitable defeat. After scanning for weaknesses, the pilot made sure the Vic Viper was well-equipped with four Multiples, missiles, lasers, and a force field before attacking the plant monster. Known as Stinger Kid, it attempted to track the ship whilst firing 5-way stamen spreads and 4 homing fireballs every few seconds. The pilot was fortunate to have already kept the force field at full power when his ship took damage, and returned fire by shooting the center of the plant creature's mass.

Stinger Kid appeared to have wilted, but it was merely molting to its next form known as Hunter Fang, twice as carnivorous as it was before. It now had fangs in its mouth along with two mouthed tentacles, ready to fight back. During the battle, a scorpion-like alien flew by to sneak up on the Vic Viper, emitting high-pitched sirens as it prepared to steal the four Multiples. The pilot was so busy dealing with Hunter Fang, that he didn't notice the aptly-named Option Hunter zooming in for the steal, leaving him with only one Multiple left at his disposal. Just when the outcome looked bleak, the Lord British came to the rescue with two of its own Multiples, the 2-Way Missiles, and the Disruptor. Earlier it had the Ripple Laser its pilot used to destroy Kholdstare and free the victims prior to meeting up with the Vic Viper. The Disruptor was the Lord British's unique red-orange laser which shot out in a pulse-like manner to take out some enemies instantly despite its low rate of fire. With two ships united under one purpose, they were able to make short work of Hunter Fang after dodging the tentacles, causing it to wither into nothing but a harmless seed...

Lord British: "Teamwork...what a concept."Vic Viper T-301: "Thanks for coming to help me."

That doesn't hurt!

Vic Viper T-301: "Uh-oh! Look lively now, it's got one more form to throw at us!"

Immediately the seed mutated into an even larger plant-like abomination called Giga's Rose, a combination of the Choking Weed and Crystal Core (at least, according to intel). A blue bulb in its center served as its weakness, with over four vine-like tentacles flanking it. Giga's Rose fired small bolts from its tentacles while opening its mouth to suck the ships in. The Vic Viper and Lord British quickly increased their speed in order to back away from the suction. Afterwards, the mouth closed for the abomination to fire two streams of lasers and big seeds that burst into deadly shrapnel. Even though the ships were able to minimize the damage dealt to themselves, Giga's Rose swung its arms around to knock them back, though fortunately it didn't cause them to crash and burn. A few minutes of avoiding more enemy fire later, the Vic Viper and Lord British finally killed Giga's Rose, reverting Mazone Dome's exterior to its former glory as the plant-like abomination died down.

Lord British: "And there it goes! Good times, eh, mate? I've always wanted to say that because, y'know, my ship has the name 'British' on it...oh, nevermind. Just trying to lighten things up a little for once, but hey, it's good to work with you."Vic Viper T-301: "We'll talk about it later. The AI is picking up signs of...Moai statues?"Lord British: "Ehh, I never could understand what the deal is with the Bacterions having those stone heads at their side."Vic Viper T-301: "Me neither, but they aren't any less dangerous as far as the archives point out."

After their short but odd conversation, the Vic Viper and Lord British flew inside through an open hatch to an underground base deep beneath Mazone Dome and, as they thought, the Moai statue heads went on full alert and spewed out a big barrage of ring-like energy bursts from their mouths. But thanks to the Lord British's 2-Way Missiles and the fact that the ring bursts were destructible, the duo had little trouble getting past the stone heads. At the end, they descended downwards and came face-to-face with a Moai statue head mounted on top of a giant stone body, fully resembling a humanoid sentry.

[End BGM][Boss BGM: Revolve (Gradius: The Interstellar Assault)]

You think you can beat me with those weapons? taunted the giant Moai. Losers! I am the great King Moai, guardian of the Organic Fortress's brain core. If you're as smart as you look, you will fly away and never return, for I have never been defeated in battle!

The Moai king broke out of the stone wall, ready to engage the would-be interlopers. He started off by throwing a flurry of punches followed by spitting ring shots out of his mouth. Then he jumped up and shook the ground, causing some loose rocks to rain down on the Vic Viper and Lord British, but the latter was quick to shield the former with its own force field, minimizing a possible fatality on themselves.

King Moai (telepathically): Sooner or later, you shall be crushed beneath me!

Raising his stone hands, the Moai king summoned four statue heads to assist him, the two of them hanging from the ceiling. Afterwards, he pulled out some loose boulders and hurled them one after another at the Vic Viper and Lord British. Both ships were almost crushed but fortunate enough to avert death, whereupon the Moai statue heads on the floor were smashed to gravel instead. King Moai opened his mouth to charge up a deadly laser beam, leaving his weak point open momentarily for the interstellar ships to fight back with their Laser and Disruptor weapons while the 2-Way Missiles took out the smaller stone heads on the ceiling.

King Moai: Your lives are gone! OMEGA BEAM!!

The stone behemoth's cue was merely enough for the Vic Viper and Lord British to clear out of the way just by a millisecond before he combined the laser beams from his mouth, hands, and eyes into one huge result, destroying more of the Moai territory than the interstellar ships did.

King Moai: Graaaargh! Hold still so I can kill the both of you!Vic Viper T-301: "Oh, I think not, Your Majesty."

The Moai king grew angry that the benevolent starfighters were able to avoid his most powerful attack ever, frequently resorting to throwing punches in a blind rage and summoning more Moai statue heads to aid him. However, he had used a lot of his energy just to unleash the Omega Beam, that he had to remain stationary to spew some ring shots from his mouth like his smaller brethren. Therefore, he was vulnerable once again, and the Vic Viper and Lord British wasted no time taking out the small fry and blew the stone king's weakness to oblivion, finally reducing him to a huge pile of gravel. The brain core at the very bottom of the Organic Fortress was now open to attack, and the interstellar ships did what was already done on Primus Star and Kanatia Star, freeing Mazone Star of the Bacterion assimilation at last.

[End BGM]

Meanwhile in the far reaches of space but above planet Bomber's atmosphere, the friendly dropship (which held Wario's group inside) was attacked by Weyland-Yutani's fleet of BigCores MK-I, MK-II, and MK-III on the way back from Mazone Star. Leading this assault was the Dellinger Core, which the group unfortunately did not encounter back on Earth. After all, Arctic Bomber, Blaze Bomber, Ami, and I were the only ones who had encountered and destroyed it that time.

Jimbo: "Man, these BigCores just keep coming!"Sully: "I really hope the Vic Viper and Lord British get here on time!"Cheerful White: "Guys, I think I see two ships heading our way. One's green, and the other's purple..."Cute Pink: "Those aren't the Vic Viper and Lord British's respective colors."Mona: "That's because the ships are in fact the Jade Knight and Falchion Beta that Professor Ein told us about. Thank goodness they've arrived!"Jade Knight (via radio): "Hey there. You didn't think the Falchion Beta and I would let you guys die, do ya?"Falchion Beta (via radio): "Get back to the Interstellar Diamond as safely as possible. We'll deal with the hostile fleet at hand!"Jimbo: "Will do! Thank the Goddess Mihaele you got here in the nick of time..."9-Volt: "My mom must be worried sick about us."Phoebe: "I know, 9-Volt, but remember that she trusts Mona and Yuffie with her life to keep us safe while she's helping Kat, Ana, Ashley, and Young Cricket guard Queen Millian."(Yuffie pats 9-Volt's shoulder affectionately.)Yuffie: "Your best friend's right, little fella. Just look on the bright side: the Lord British helped us save Jimbo and Sully, and best of all, we've got the next Chrono Crystal shard safe and sound, I promise!"Sully: "Not only that, 9-Volt, your ninja guardian angel even motivated me and Jimbo to act like real soldiers and not let a single loss demoralize us from doing our duty. Okay guys, this is gonna be a little rough, so I suggest you hang tight!"

[Fight BGM: Theme of the Mechanical Boss (Salamander 2)]

As the civilian dropship fled the battle to get inside the Interstellar Diamond to rendezvous with Queen Millian and the others, the Jade Knight and Falchion Beta got two of their own missiles and Multiples ready in addition to their laser weapons. The Jade Knight's currently-equipped arsenal consisted of the Spread Bomb, an air-to-ground missile that explodes on contact with either the surface or an enemy craft. The Pulse Laser, however, was a bit weaker than the Vic Viper's standard laser beam, though its rate of fire was quite good. In fact, this three-pronged green beam bore a resemblance to the Twin Laser from the Gradius games. The Falchion Beta's set of weapons were different but decently strong on its own when used properly. Its Rolling Missile, another air-to-ground weapon like the Spread Bomb, can tumble to the ground where it splits and shoots both left and right. These missiles may not be entirely useful in empty space, but they could still take out the enemy craft beneath the Falchion Beta. As for the laser, which operated as the Gravity Bullet, fired a single powerful shot that could detonate in a purple gravity explosion on contact. Its attack power appeared to be on par with the Lord British's Disruptor.

Because the Jade Knight and Falchion Beta came prepared, they were quick to take out the BigCores MK-I, MK-II, and MK-III whilst dodging their deadly storm of laser beams and drawing the Dellinger Core's attention away from the retreating dropship. A few minutes later, the leading warship was all that remained of the enemy reinforcements attempting to destroy the Interstellar Diamond Celestial Pearl colonies. The Dellinger Core opened its stretchable arms and fired a volley of lasers before curling the arms into a ball to ram itself toward the Jade Knight and Falchion Beta. It reopened its arms about halfway to shoot its lasers diagonally. The green and purple duo returned fire on the barrier panels, making sure to avoid getting hit by the suicide bullets that came out in a wide arc. As soon as they took out the core, the Dellinger Core tried its last-ditch attack to take the Jade Knight and Falchion Beta down with it by flailing its open arms about. They were knocked away, but fortunately not destroyed since the pilots activated the force fields around their ships.

[End BGM]

Once the malevolent warship blew up, the Jade Knight and Falchion Beta went for a last-minute patrol around the space colonies before getting inside the Interstellar Diamond to learn the story about our campaign at hand, including the part where Weyland-Yutani intended to resurrect the evil Dr. Venom on planet Bomber. However, since the corrupt megacorporation still possessed the ability to clone Bacterions, all they could do is protect the Interstellar Diamond and Celestial Pearl with their lives until the safe return of Vic Viper T-301 and Lord British.

Mission 12: Darkest hourIn spite of our success at freeing Primus Star, Kanatia Star, and Mazone Star with the help of the Vic Viper, Lord British, Jade Knight, and Falchion Beta ships, nothing could stop Weyland-Yutani from cloning countless Bacterion warships to delay our reinforcements from stopping Dr. Venom's resurrection. Even Lieutenant Jaguar and his remaining soldiers are having a hard time preventing that because of the dreaded Contra Killers.Mihaele help us if the Five-Eyed Green Devil himself does come back to life...November 10, 20XX11:30 PM

A few hours of dogfighting had passed, as midnight draws near. Apparently, Colonel Bassad wanted it this way because to him, most enemy factions wait until midnight to commence resurrection. Fortunately for us, the Vic Viper and the three interstellar ships were able to protect our friends along with the Interstellar Diamond and Celestial Pearl space colonies - even recovering three Chrono Crystal shards with only one left to go. Despite this setback on Bassad's part, he intentionally let me, Ami, Bill, Lance, Blaze, and Arctic go free for "one final fight before we die", as he put it simply.

Spread Garnet: "Back for more? When will you weaklings learn?"Laser Amethyst: "In fact, I'm thinking of inflicting a different disease on Ami and Arctic Bomber before going for Blaze Bomber, so we can have lots and lots of fun one last time."Homing Jasper: "As the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Dr. Venom yearns for his resurrection and can't be kept waiting."Me: "You know what? I think we've figured it all out from the time you captured us."Bassad: "And what is it you have in mind? It had better not be another of your sneaky underhanded tricks, or else we'll have to start the ritual 30 minutes early!"Ami: "The Contra Cruisers Aqua and Flame that we saw the other day...I think it really was us."Arctic Bomber: "It took a while for us to figure it out during our whole journey in the Bomber Nebula, but we wanted to keep it a secret from everyone until now - just like you kept your plans classified to all of us."Bassad (laughs): "You, the ones who helped yourselves destroy the one Bacterion flagship that came out of nowhere? Surely you jest, but no matter..."Blaze Bomber: "Of course, we'd still have to see it for ourselves and believe it as soon as we rejuvenate the Chrono Crystal. Anyway, I bet your Contra Killers can't fight hand-to-hand."Spread Garnet: "I resent that!"Bill: "Blaze's got a point. You may have researched us Contras well to use our own technology against us, but you pretty much overlooked the fact that we often focus more on distant attacks against the enemy than close-range combat."Lance: "So therefore, you could unleash hell on us with these attacks and kick us when we're down, but your melee skills leave much to be desired."Laser Amethyst: "Much to be desired?! We'll show you 'much to be desired'!"Burke: "Enough talk! The omniscient Bacterion God grows impatient and demands your sinful souls for his revival! Now DIE!!"Ami: "Sinful souls? What kind of threat is that?"Me: "Try not to think too much about it. Bill, Lance, Arctic, your priority is Laser Amethyst. Take her out first before going after Spread Garnet and Homing Jasper. It's the only way the Skull Virus beam's effects will be forever undone on Ami's Bomberman Watch and Arctic's body."Ami: "The rest of us will keep Bassad occupied the best we can. Let's make it count, fellas!"Arctic Bomber: "But we can't even get close because of their massive attacks and reflective bodies! What makes you think we can?"Blaze Bomber: "We'll just have to try harder! I know we can do it!"

Immediately before the battle started, Blaze Bomber unveiled another surprise much to Weyland-Yutani's exasperation: he actually had the portable power-up generator built for us ahead of time all along, even before our first battle against the invading Bacterions. Arctic Bomber backed up this reason by claiming it's only fair that we Contras keep Weyland-Yutani in the dark about our last-minute surprises just like they did to us - an eye for an eye, as the old saying went. We were not planning on letting their cloned soldiers, aliens, and Bacterions alike kill our friends anymore. Afterwards, Blaze Bomber used the generator to materialize the Ice Breath for Bill and the Crash Missiles for Lance to use with their unaffected M16 rifles. He also handed them the Drill Shot and Flamethrower in case of emergency.

Bassad: "How dare you mock us with your secrecy when our greatest triumph draws near?! I will crush you like the pests you are! Oh mighty king of the Bacterions, hear my plea! Grant me your strength!"(Upon raising his hands, a flash of lightning emanated from the overtaken Bomber Base, enshrouding his body with a purple aura.)Ami: "Now who's the terrorist? I normally don't talk like this, but you and your comrades are prisoners of your own twisted delusions! Dr. Venom is evil and not to be trusted!"Bassad: "Shut up! I've heard enough from you, pitiful girl!"(He unleashes his Particle Bomb attack on me and Ami, both of whom Blaze Bomber quickly shielded with his body.)Bassad: "I should have killed you after that first battle with the Bacterions."(Ami and I unleashed a series of punches and kicks, despite a few missed attempts.)Me: "Our friends, along with Queen Millian and her people, are counting on us to end your reign of terror!"Blaze Bomber: "You dishonor us all, Bassad!"

In a fit of rage, Bassad thrust his arms violently, knocking us over. He quickly followed up by teleporting behind us and did an overhead smash on our heads, doubling up our pain. Grinning maliciously, the power-mad colonel turned his attention towards Bill and Lance and fired his Skull EMP without delay, but Blaze got up and pulled him down by the legs, causing his Ripple Laser-like skull bursts to miss entirely.

Bassad: "Graaargh! You'll pay for that!"(He transformed his hands into a deadly pair of blades and did a devastating cross slash on Blaze's chest!)Blaze Bomber: "GYAAAGH!!"Me: "Blaze!"Ami: "No!!"

While we continued our struggle with as much energy as we still had in our bodies, Bill and Lance went for Laser Amethyst and Homing Jasper. Arctic Bomber, on the other hand, kept Spread Garnet occupied, even if it meant taking some hits for her two former enemies. Lance took the fight to the purple-jeweled villainess in a southpaw stance with his right hand and right foot forward, leading with right jabs to the face, followed by a left cross right hook to the gut. Though the southpaw was the normal stance for a left-handed boxer (let alone the famed "Italian Stallion"), Lance was more right-handed when it came to using guns. Simply put, he'd be identified as an orthodox as though he were in a boxing ring. After demonstrating a southpaw stance, he switched places by setting his left foot further in front of the right foot. He jabbed Laser Amethyst with his right hand, followed by another right hook to the gut. She was so used to fighting from a distance like us, that she was unable to even defend herself in a melee attack properly. The moment she was stunned, Lance unleashed a powerful uppercut, causing her jewel-wrought armor to crack.

Laser Amethyst: "Nooo! My body! What have you done to me?!"Lance: "Nothing a well-trained fighter couldn't handle."Laser Amethyst: "Aaaaagghh!!"(She fired a barrage of laser shots, which Lance ducked underneath to avoid taking damage. Then she hit Arctic with another Skull Virus beam, causing her to stagger back and forth.)Arctic Bomber: "Uuuuggghhh...somehow, I feel like I'm punch-drunk from all the fighting..."

In the meantime, Bill was holding his ground the best he could against Homing Jasper, the latter's armor being ruptured a bit in the center from an earlier attack. He threw a flurry of punches and kicks, followed by swatting away the heatseekers despite taking a bit of damage. Homing Jasper attempted to dodge every attacks thrown at him, but only until after Bill reached and grabbed him for a back suplex. First he stood behind a temporarily-stunned Homing Jasper and put his head under the arm. Then he lifted the Heat-seeking Marksman up using both of his arms wrapped around the torso of the opponent before finally falling backwards and dropping the opponent flat on his back for another crack in his jewel-wrought armor. Like with Laser Amethyst, his body would not deflect all non-concussive shots as well as before. He tried fighting back hand-to-hand but Bill was fast enough to reach between his legs with one arm, and reached around his back from the same side with his other arm prior to pulling the enemy up over his shoulder. Grunting with all his might, Bill fell forward to slam Homing Jasper against the ground back-first, damaging the jewel-wrought armor farther.

Homing Jasper: "Impossible! We Contra Killers were built and programmed to be perfect in every way!"Bill (smirks): "There are some things even you don't know about us benevolent Contras."(He freezes Homing Jasper's body with his M16 machine gun's Ice Breath, and broke him free with a hard kick, finally exposing his energy core.)Bill: "You may have a better weapon, but I'm a better user and so are Lance and Aaron."(He replaced the Ice Breath on his gun with the Drill Shot and pierced Homing Jasper's armor-less chest with it, killing him in the ensuing explosion and coughing up the Homing Missiles power-up data simultaneously.)Bill: "Not exactly what we had in mind, but at least there's one less Contra Killer to put up with."

With Laser Amethyst stunned momentarily, she was open to attack from Lance's Crash Missiles, each of which cracked more of her reflective armor. Because of her lack of knowledge in melee combat, she was unable to call upon Spread Garnet for their Bullet-Laser Hell Storm attack. Her energy core exposed, Lance replaced the Crash Missiles on his gun with the Flamethrower. Laser Amethyst panicked and jumped around in a last-ditch effort to save herself while shooting Arctic again with the Skull Virus beam, causing her Bowling Bombs to magically appear on the ground, each primed uncontrollably. Unfortunately for the Reflective Jewel, the bombs were right next to Spread Garnet as well as Arctic, each exploding around them in just seconds. The Mistress of the Cold saw her chance and grabbed the Mistress of Spread Fire's arms before she could retaliate, causing her to accidentally kill Laser Amethyst by shooting at her damaged body up-close, permanently undoing the Skull Virus beam's affects on Arctic's body and Ami's Bomberman Watch. In the end, Arctic grabbed our Laser Beam power-up data and tossed it to Lance for safekeeping. As our plan came successful, we were now evenly matched with Ami's ability to use her holy-powered cartoon bombs again.

Sensing he was about to lose because of our new strategy, Bassad jumped back and charged up for a meteor attack, his voice pitch deepening as he focused on his energy. "Behold my strength! NOW THIS IS POWER!" His voice returned to normal as he hurled the meteor in our direction, inflicting heavy damage upon us and killing Spread Garnet as well.

Spread Garnet: "AAAAAAAAAAHH!!!"Bassad: "Sorry I had to do that, but you were merely in my way for they left me no choice!"(He fires his Skull EMP again, and this time succeeds in disabling Bill and Lance's guns' ability to acquire any power-ups, reverting them back to their default machine guns instantly.)King Billy: "You leave my friend Arctic and her Contra pals alone, Bassad! Venom's an evil monster and you know it!"Bassad: "Insolent pest! Away with you!"(He knocks Billy away with a missile-like burst, sending him crashing into Lt. Jaguar.)Blaze Bomber (weakened): "Just...gotta...get our Spread Gun back..."

But as he picked up the power-up data to put inside his portable power-up generator, Bassad kicked him down and stomped on his face repeatedly. Just when he went for the kill on our downed bodies, a voice emanated from out of nowhere.

[End BGM][Suspense BGM: Vile Intro (Mega Man X)]

Stop! Bassad, you are no longer of any use to me!

Bassad: "Who the hell are you?! I demand you show yourself!"

I am the one you brought to planet Bomber. The natives who fought valiantly could see me, but you could not.

No, I didn't think you would. Your desire for power overwhelmed you from the moment you were granted your new body, and blinded you to the truth inside. Now give these six pitiful soldiers what they're looking for - give them the final Chrono Crystal shard!

Bassad: "You will regret this..."(He reluctantly tosses the blue shard, the Bomber Sapphire, in our direction. Immediately he changed the angry look on his face into a malicious grin.)Bassad: "...but this time I'll make you Contras wish you were never born! I don't need our three Contra Killers to obliterate all of you! Ares, Burke, I'd clear out of range if I were you..."

[End BGM]

The rogue colonel's two partners gulped in fear and stepped away, whilst ordering their soldiers to follow suit. Then Bassad used the Particle Bomb attack again, which Ami was quick to deflect with her pumped-up Wind Bomb despite her weakened status. Though he was hurt, he didn't scream as if he had predicted pain firsthand. Charging up for another meteor attack, he bellowed once again, "Behold my strength! NOW THIS IS POWER!" It looked as if this time, neither of us would survive the next attack...

All of a sudden, a series of White Magic spells were cast upon our battered bodies: Curaga, Regen, Protect, Shell, Haste, and Reflect. Bassad, however, was too carried away by his desire for Bacterion power to even take notice as he hurled the meteor in our direction. That's when he noticed too late, much to his surprise, as his own attack was reflected back at him for heavy damage. When we woke up, we saw our friends coming toward us, having arrived in their civilian dropship with the Vic Viper, Lord British, Jade Knight, and Falchion Beta as their escort team. Corporals Jimbo and Sully, on the other hand, tended to Jaguar's wounds.

Yuffie: "Are we on time? I hope my White Magic spells reached out to you guys, because I've just about exhausted my mystic energy to save you..."Bill: "Yeah...they did. Thanks, Yuffie."Lance: "Weyland-Yutani's campaign should be just about over."Ami: "But that voice...I can't help but think we recognize it from somewhere..."Me: "Either it's Venom, or..."9-Volt (gasps): "...Sthertoth, the Demon of the Dark?"Phoebe: "9-Volt and I first ran into him when we played through Bomberman 64: The Second Attack!..."Blaze Bomber: "I hope not, but the one silver lining is we finally recovered all of our Contra power-ups."(In spite of the X-shaped damage on his chest, he managed to take the Laser Beam and Homing Missiles power-up data from Bill and Lance, and put them into the power-up generator.)Blaze Bomber: "Believe me, this fight was NOT easy. The Contra Killers' reflective bodies and their ability to use our own technology against us were a major problem, so we had to try a different form of attack we rarely do in a heated battle: melee combat."Yuffie: "Glad to hear you came through. We almost thought you wouldn't make it when we noticed that meteor attack."(While we were talking, Bassad got up and ran inside Bomber Base calling out to Dr. Venom.)Pibot: "My word! He's getting away!"Millian: "We have to go after him!"Yuffie: "Let us handle this. Mona, help 9-Volt's mom keep him and Phoebe safe until we get back."King Billy: "Arctic, I'm comin' with you this time."Arctic Bomber: "Thanks, Billy."

[Alert BGM: Evil Wily (Mega Man 10)]

Accompanied by Cheerful White, Cute Pink, Yuffie, and King Billy, we rushed our way into the base and reached the top by elevator where we saw Colonel Bassad praying in desperation to Dr. Venom's soul.

Bassad: "Venom! Please, I beg you! We need more of your Bacterion power! We did everything you asked! You promised to share your technology with us in addition to planets Earth and Bomber! If not...then why did we at Weyland-Yutani make a deal with you...?"Venom (telepathically): Know your place, Bassad. You're merely mortal even in your new artificial body.(His five red eyes glowing, Venom's soul zapped Bassad's injured body with a tremendous force.)Bassad: "AAARRRGHH!! No, don't kill me! If I die, my Skull EMP's effects would stop working on Aaron, Bill, and Lance's holy-powered rifles anymore! You told me you'd guide us in our campaign against terrorism for generations to come!"Venom: HA! You should have known never to trust a Bacterion God in the first place! Begone!

The malevolent soul increased the power of his death beam, lobotomizing Bassad's brain within the metallic head, followed by shorting out his artificial body prior to killing him in an explosion. Absorbing his soul along with those who died valiantly, Venom was able to revive himself in his own body. Known in Gradian history as the Five-Eyed Green Devil, he had pointy ears as well as three additional eyes in a straight vertical line on his forehead. Clad in dark-red armor with spikes on his shoulder pads and arms, he stepped out of the resurrection chamber to speak his word.

Venom (normal voice): "The power of the Bacterions is mine alone. I won't let anyone share it!"Arctic Bomber: "Dr. Venom!"Venom: "That's King Venom to you, human!"Arctic Bomber: "Ugh, I'm a Bomberman and so's Blaze Bomber...oh, nevermind!"Yuffie (to herself): "His body and soul are filled with pure hatred, just like Red Falcon, Sniper Bomber, and Axe Bomber...I can feel it."Blaze Bomber: "We're not licked yet. I think we can still--"(Venom interrupted Blaze by stunning our bodies with lethal bolts of red lightning, cackling maliciously as our positive status effects - including Reflect - were negated instantly.)Venom: "Spare me your pathetic attempts to resist. All the four planets in the Bomber Nebula are destined to be mine for the taking, and your planet Earth as well! I need the Weyland-Yutani Corporation no longer! Still, you may watch and weep as I kill your precious friends too."

Ares: "I won't repeat myself, Colonial Marines...do as we tell you or your friends are history!"Burke: "The Earth - and not just the United States - has been overpopulated with political problems and terrorist threats for far too long since the Alien Wars. Even you must realize that we need Bacterion technology to repress them all forever!"

Standing alongside the clone soldiers and alien Xenomorphs, the latter being apparently trained to obey the leaders without question, Admiral Ares and Carter Burke had their weapons pointed at Queen Millian, Pibot, and the remaining civilians who came out of the Interstellar Diamond to help us out. Corporals Jimbo and Sully held up their commander Jaguar for support, all of whom were beyond disgusted at Weyland-Yutani's cowardice. Unfortunately, it seems the enemy had finally won as the Bacterion warships managed to get lucky enough to subdue the Vic Viper, Lord British, Jade Knight, and Falchion Beta...

Jaguar: "...Alright. If you let them go, I'll gladly accept my demise on the spot, and join Sergeants Mad Dog and Scorpion in the afterlife."Jimbo: "No, Jaguar...you can't! That's not what the Contras and their allies would've wanted!"Sully: "Plus, you're badly injured! We'll figure our way outta this somehow, I just know we can!"Ares: "Save your breath, your so-called heroes are dead! It's their fault our country on Earth is almost completely down the toilet. Both its society and economy are dying because of these Bombermen the world leaders blindly agreed to welcome to our world!"Jaguar: "Define 'blindly'..."Jimbo: "We helped them settle on the agreement that humans and Bombermen can live in peace and work together for the survival of both worlds, but not through the threat of force and especially not the usage of Bacterion technology!"Sully: "And in case you forgot, the bio-mechanical beings were meant to be living weapons just like the Xenomorphs!"Ares: "Time and again we've convinced you the ultimate solution is the only way. Since you will not listen, these people over there have no choice but to die for their sins. It is as Dr. Venom beckoned so as to appease him."

[End BGM]

Suddenly, an explosion erupted from atop Bomber Base, and out came the green alien menace himself, possessing a menacing grin on his face out of satisfaction that he was able to walk the mortal plane of existence once more, let alone lead the malevolent Bacterion Empire. Immediately the two co-leaders of Weyland-Yutani took it upon themselves to bow down before him as though he were their god.

[Interlude BGM: Giygas' Intro (EarthBound)]

Burke: "Yes! He has returned! The ultimate solution to all the political problems and terrorist threats has finally arrived before us! Praise the Goddess of the Cosmos!"Ares: "It is truly a miracle! O Mighty King of all Bacterions, we bring to thee such worthy sacrifices!"9-Volt (to Phoebe, quietly): "The Five-Eyed Green Devil! I'm afraid this really is it for us..."Phoebe (to 9-Volt, quietly): "I don't wanna die either, but it's likely we'll be in a better place if that happens..."(Mona and 5-Volt hugged them gently.)5-Volt: "Shhh, it's gonna be okay, son. Your big sister and I are here."Mona: "We won't let either of you go, even in death."Kat: "I hope Cheerful White and Cute Pink haven't died. They can't be dead with Yuffie and her White Magic spells around!"Ana: "But what if we're wrong? Oh, this nightmare is already bringing back painful memories of both Red Falcon and World War III...!"Ares (to Venom): "Dr. Venom, long have we awaited your return so you can cleanse every last corrupt soul on Earth and Bomber with your flames of judgment."(Venom gave an ominous chortle.)Venom: "You mistake me for a common savior. Do you know why a supreme ruler of the Bacterions such as myself is never to be trusted?"(At this, Ares and Burke looked up to him in confusion.)Venom: "Well, Bassad does, and you're just about to find out the same way right before your very eyes."Ares: "Wait, you don't understand. We went through all the trouble to bring you back to life. We did everything you asked."Venom: "That's the same thing your colonel told me before I killed him."(He glances over at the Contra Killers' dead bodies, and shoots bolts of lightning at them for the sake of resurrection.)Venom: "No longer will your creations be referred to as the Contra Killers, for they shall be reborn as my personal guard: the Bacterion Enforcers. Of course, I won't need to steal the so-called Contra power-ups since the androids have already absorbed enough data in order to use said weapons without restriction, once again thanks to your own intellect. But unfortunately for you, every living Bacterion, be it a cell, an artificial being, or even a mechanical ship, is destined to serve its leader in a hive mind. As long as I live, they are mine to command, including your clone soldiers and these so-called Xenomorphs, because you fused them with Bacterion cells."

With a red glow from each of his five eyes, the clones and alien creatures rallied to Dr. Venom's side, all led by the undead Spread Garnet, Laser Amethyst, and Homing Jasper. This sight merely made Ares and Burke cringe in fear that the Five-Eyed Green Devil double-crossed them.

Burke: "You can't kill us! We only aim to stop the many terrors on Earth! I beseech you, take these people's lives, not ours!"Venom: "Cowardice will get you nowhere, for I don't prevent terror...I create them! You, on the other hand, have been cloning reinforcements on my behalf without any reconsideration whatsoever. I merely used your lust for power to ensure my revival would go uninterrupted."(The executive member of Weyland-Yutani could only stammer in fear of his own life.)Burke: "Um...I, uhhh...I just remembered something! I have a very important meeting at our military space station up in outer space with our fellow superiors! Bye!"(He grabbed Ares and ran away in fear, only to be subdued momentarily by Laser Amethyst's beams.)Burke: "Jaguar, Jimbo, Sully, everyone...all we ever wanted was the survival of our human race! I swear to the Goddess, you have to understand why we had to betray you by working with Dr. Venom and the Bacterions!"Jaguar: "You didn't betray us...you betrayed yourselves."Burke: "No, that's not what I--"

[End BGM][Alert BGM: Doppler Demo (Mega Man X3 (PSX))]

Venom charged up a death ray from his eyes and arms, and his mouth, combining into one powerful enough shot to disintegrate Burke's body, killing him instantly as his screams faded into deep silence. Ares was lucky to be spared, though only for a moment.

Ares: "Grrr...you're going to wish you hadn't done that!"Venom: "You've prattled about long enough, worm! Prepare to join your fellow superiors in hell!"Jaguar: "NO!!"(He got up only to be knocked over along with Jimbo and Sully by Spread Garnet's spread fire, giving Dr. Venom ample time to kill Admiral Ares with his death beam.)Jaguar: "Venom, you bastard! Ares, Burke, and Bassad may have betrayed us all, but they don't deserve to die like this!"Venom: "Humans and Bombermen are inferior, much like the foolish Gradians who have time and again defeated our kind. For that, they shall die before I intend to rewrite history myself!"(The four Gradian ships managed to break free from incapacity by the Bacterion warships' stun beams.)Venom: "Ahhh...the Vic Viper, Lord British, Jade Knight, and Falchion Beta. What clever timing, but also a shame that I must eradicate them immediately upon my resurrection. Bacterion Enforcers, lead our infantry in the deaths of these pitiful worms!"Jaguar: "No, I won't let you kill them!"(He gets out his blessed katana.)Jaguar: "This sword, which had been forged by my people on planet Oh! Edo in ancient time, is the final weapon...one which I must use to ensure your defeat, Dr. Venom!"Venom: "Ha! You dare challenge a Bacterion God with a pathetic weapon? Oh well, I had been gone for so long, so I guess a little hand-to-hand combat won't hurt. But first, a word with the ruler of Primus Star is in order..."(Focusing on his power, he turns himself into an evil spirit and flies right into Queen Millian's body in a flash, knocking every civilian over in a tremendous force.)Pibot: "Oh, dear! We're doomed!"

Venom (inside Millian's body): "For once, I agree with you: your doomsday has arrived! Ready your weapon, Jaguar, and kill me if you dare! You'll only inflict physical harm upon this woman's body, so therefore, the only way to get rid of me is to kill her. Heh heh heh...Are you willing to take that risk?"Jaguar: "Release yourself from Queen Millian's body at once, coward!"Venom: "Who's the coward? You stand before me, yet you still concern yourself over the weak-minded fools!"(He materializes a scythe in the possessed queen's hands.)Venom: "Let's see who will die first before I kill your sniveling minions: you, or the Queen of Primus Star!"Jaguar: "Jimbo, Sully, get over to the citizens of our Interstellar Diamond and Celestial Pearl space colonies and help them exterminate the Bacterion threat at hand. I'll do what I can to free Millian without harming her body.Jimbo: "But we can't just let you die alone like this!"Jaguar: "I'll be fine, just go! In the meantime, look for the six Contras as well as White, Pink, and Yuffie if they're still alive. It's our only hope for survival alongside our Gradian allies."Sully: "...Will do, sir. May Mihaele be with us during the rest of the Interdimensional War in the Bomber Nebula."

The rogue Wreek proceeded with swinging his scythe to and fro at Jaguar, who was quick to block with his enchanted katana. He followed up by charging an energy orb on the blade, unleashing it with all his might at the last second. Right before the orb struck, Jaguar quickly side-jumped out of the way.

Jimbo: "Yo, Jaguar! I think reflecting that attack might do the least harm to Millian's body! Don't ask why, I've seen something like that in a video game before!"Jaguar: "Are you sure?"Jimbo: "Trust me, I know; just think back to tennis!"(He runs back with Sully.)Venom: "Even those who manage to wise up to my tactics can never expect to defeat me without killing the victim's body!"

That being said, he resumed the conflict by floating up-close in an attempt to behead the benevolent leader of the Colonial Marines, with each slices blocked by well-timed parries. Unsurprisingly, Venom wanted to see if Jaguar can actually kill Queen Millian instead of him, that the peaceful reign over Primus Star would be brought to a tragic end. Of course, the humanoid alien from Oh! Edo had no intention on harming the queen since civilian safety always came first. After blocking every attack without hurting the victim's body, Venom flew upwards and fired another energy orb from his scythe, but this time Jaguar was ready for it. Recalling his fellow soldier's words, he swung his katana at the orb to send it back at Venom, who wasted not a single millisecond deflecting the attack away from himself. The volley continued for about ten seconds until Venom missed his chance and got struck by his own attack, stunning Millian's body momentarily.

Venom (gritting his teeth): "Clever, quite clever...but not good enough!"(The four Gradian ships flew in to assist the Colonial Marines and the civilians.)Venom: "Yes, that's it. Obliterate the pitiful queen's body; it's the only way to expel me."Falchion Beta: "Oh, just the thought of what happened makes me mad!"Jade Knight: "We're going in!"Lord British: "No! This is exactly what he wants us to do!"Vic Viper: "LB's right. We'll have to help the civilians under attack by these clone soldiers and alien creatures down there."(The pilots flew away to support Wario and Mona's group with an airstrike, prompting the latter to clear out as quickly as possible.)Venom: "Don't prolong the inevitable, it's just a matter of time before this battle ends with both Jaguar and the Queen of Primus Star dead on the ground!"Jaguar (angrily): "FIGHT ME, COWARD!!"Venom: "Thrash about all you want, because your time has already run out!"

His five red eyes magically appeared over the possessed queen's face and fired the bright-red death beam, which Jaguar was barely able to deflect with his katana. Thinking quickly, he redirected the beam like a mirror so that it killed some cloned Xenomorphs and corrupt soldiers instead. Then Venom charged up two energy balls on the tip of his scythe and sent them hurtling toward the dark-skinned samurai in red.

Venom: "None dare defy the current leader of the Bacterion Empire! Even if you win, you still lose the beloved queen herself!"(Despite his threats, Jaguar was still able to deflect the two energy orbs back and forth until they struck Venom again.)Venom: "Still you refuse to accept the fact that the more you attack, much less fight back, the closer your precious queen is to her end by your hands."(He shoots another energy orb, followed by the evil version of the Particle Bomb attack he stole from Bassad's dead corpse, to catch Jaguar off guard and injure him simultaneously.)Venom: "The game is over! Bow down before me, and perish by my hand!"

All of a sudden, clouds of mist formed out of nowhere and combined into a dragon-like figure, immediately breathing misty clouds at Millian's possessed body, slowly but surely purging Dr. Venom in his agony. Jaguar opened his eyes as he got up to witness the beast that had just saved him, eventually glancing over to 5-Volt who had her hands out as though she had beckoned it to expel the Five-Eyed Green Devil.

[End BGM]

Jaguar (to himself): "5-Volt...so the legends were indeed true after all. Who'd have thought that long after the famed green-haired summoner from an earthly town called Mist helped a remorseful knight and his friends defeat the evil Zeromus on the Moon...that she and her descendants would later migrate to what came to be known as the United States on Earth...? Not to mention her summon magic passed from one generation to another, all the way to 5-Volt in the present...and perhaps her only son 9-Volt too...?"

Though he heard the legend, what he did not know was that it was kept secret between 9-Volt and his mother's family, the latter having insisted on passing it off as a fairy tale to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands through technology abuse like with the holy power from within us Contras. On top of that, 5-Volt and her then-alive husband wished for 9-Volt to live on as an ordinary person, at the very least alongside his friends - especially Phoebe, White, and Pink - rather than bear the burden the green-haired summoner did.

As soon as the Mist Dragon disappeared, 5-Volt fainted from the energy she had used up to help keep everyone alive, let alone her only son and his best friend Phoebe. Fortunately, though, Mona was quick to catch her for support whereas Wario continued pounding the corrupt soldiers on his redheaded girlfriend's behalf. Venom, on the other hand, was still alive even after he had been expelled from Queen Millian's fainted body, his scythe having faded out of her hands.

Venom: "Hmm hmm hmm...you're doing well, aren't you? Still, your attempt to resist me is pathetic, Jaguar! NOW DIE!!"Jaguar: "I'm not dead yet...but according to the Bushido code on my planet, he who fights without honor dies without honor."Venom: "Honor exists only for the weak-hearted, foolish mortal! I'm just getting started!"

The condition of this battle remained unchanged, though Wario and Mona's group managed to destroy most of the clone soldiers and alien Xenomorphs in time to fall back to Bomber Base under Jaguar's orders to find us, with Jimbo and Sully picking up the Queen of Primus Star for support and following suit thereafter. But their safety was not to last, for the three Bacterion Enforcers, formerly known as the Contra Killers prior to their deaths, were far from dead again.

[A/N: Normally I don't post something this late at night, let alone past 3:00 AM, but it had to be done so I could make up for lost time once more this month (partly due to my FanFiction.net activity). Thanks for understanding.]

Chapter 19: VS Venom and the Bacterion Enforcers

Mission 13: Venom's rampageWith Jaguar currently fighting what would soon be a losing battle against Dr. Venom, Jimbo and Sully lead Wario and his friends directly to Bomber Base by their leader's command to find the wounded Contras and their allies, though they know his survival would not last much longer on his own. One goal, however, remains clear: the Chrono Crystal must be reformed before long.November 11, 20XX12:00 AM

Inside Bomber Base, Corporals Jimbo and Sully led Wario's group in an effort to find our wounded bodies, hoping we hadn't been killed while they were fighting for their lives outside.

Jimbo: "Contras? Yo, Contras! Where are you?"Sully: "Can you guys hear us?"Me: "...Over...here..."Ami: "Our friends are hurt, too...but the rest of us will live..."Jimbo: "Ah, thank Mihaele that Dr. Venom didn't kill you...but he's gonna do the same to Jaguar unless we regroup with him. Can any of you guys walk?"Cheerful White: "Ugh...I think so..."Cute Pink: "Me too..."Yuffie: "I wish I brought some more Ethers along...then I'd have enough mystic energy to heal everyone with Curaga..."Sully: "Yuffie, you've pulled me and Jimbo out of the tough time we had been through the other day. Now c'mon, it's the least we can do in return."Wario: "I'm-a goin' back out, you guys stay put!"Mona: "But Dr. Venom's--"Wario: "Jaguar may be a well-trained samurai inside, but he's stacked against uneven odds! He's gonna get killed, and I ain't letting it happen anymore!"Mona: "...Alright, but I'm going with you."Pibot: "I'll help Her Highness guard the four Chrono Crystal shards while we rejuvenate them into one."Millian: "Thanks for getting me and Pibot to safety right after Jaguar expelled Venom from my body. Here, I've got some Ethers for our ninja friend and 9-Volt's mother."Yuffie: "Thanks, Queen Millian."(She drinks one of the potions and heals our injured bodies in return with Curaga.)Millian (smiles): "Please, just call me Millian."Bill: "Meanwhile, we'll discuss how we can get the Chrono Crystal to work so that the two Contra Cruisers we saw a couple days ago weren't just figments of our imagination."Lance: "I'm sure it had to be us, but the only way for that to be true is to see it all in person."Jimbo: "Now that everyone's healed up, it's time Sully and I went back out."Blaze Bomber: "But you just--"Sully: "Listen, Blaze. Our CO's in danger, and neither of us Colonial Marines are gonna let him sacrifice his life. We need him alive as much as ourselves, and the rest of you as well. You focus on getting the Chrono Crystal fixed up."Vic Viper pilot: "My squadmates and I will guard Bomber Base with our lives until it's ready. No doubt Venom's not done calling in the armada of Bacterion warships from the Organic Fortress beneath the surface."

[Boss BGM: Nightmare Battles (The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening)]

As Wario and Mona rushed outside with Jimbo and Sully following behind, they glanced over to the Bacterion Enforcers that had gone over to Venom's side.

Venom: "Still twitching in your lost cause, are you, Jaguar?"Jaguar: "No...I'm just getting started."Venom: "So have I, but who said anything about fighting one-on-one? Bacterion Enforcers, to me!"(Spread Garnet, Laser Amethyst, and Homing Jasper did as they were told, turning this fight into a four-on-one onslaught.)Venom: "I never was a big fan of fighting fair anyway."(Wario, Mona, Jimbo, and Sully jumped in front of Jaguar to even the odds.)Venom: "And what do we have here?"Jaguar: "Jimbo, Sully, I thought I told you to--"Jimbo: "Everyone's safe, but you're not."Sully: "The Colonial Marines in general do not stand a chance in hell without you as their guide. You've influenced us time and again to stay alive."Wario: "The four of us are taking the fight together alongside you whether you like it or not!"Mona: "I normally don't say this much, but no righteous person is ever left behind."Jaguar: "...You are all about to perish in a losing fight against Venom. Do as you please."Sully: "Sir, it's not like you to talk this way."Venom: "Are you finished with your conversation yet?! Let's go!"(Spinning his scythe in a vertical direction, he transformed into a metallic dragon-like snake.)Wario: "Aw, don't tell me Weyland-Yutani even tinkered with the Five Dastardly Bombers' transformations as part of their bioweapons division too!"Venom: "They have indeed, because they were afraid you'd grow too powerful for your own good, so they had to take a step further into forbidden territory to do what was absolutely necessary. Now that they've served their purpose, let me show you how well I can use these forms!"Mona (to her allies): "That's Magnet Bomber's monstrous form, Magnet Dragon, from Bomberman Tournament. Watch his fire breath."Wario: "Duh, no need to remind me! Let's pound those evil clowns while we're still breathing!"

Dr. Venom slithered about, while Spread Garnet provided covering fire with her evil version of our Spread Gun. The deadly bullets were the same, only now they looked like venomous fangs from a basilisk's mouth. Regardless of whether these fang-like bullets shared the same poisonous trait, the group dodged out of the way while Jaguar deflected them with his katana blade. Venom, on the other hand, breathed fire from his mouth, which was normally avoidable at best, but he also moved his head back and forth to make it a bit tougher to dodge. Either way, the fire breath was still short-ranged enough for Jaguar's group to avoid taking damage, until Wario jumped on top and performed a hip drop onto the dragon snake's head, detaching the exploding "segments" in the progress. Mona, Jimbo, and Sully took the opportunity to grab the spherical parts of the detached body and threw them at the head to inflict damage. Venom, sensing this form wouldn't sustain more than one or two blasts to the head, changed his shape into a big octopus with an oversized heart emblem on its forehead.

Mona: "That form is Pretty Balloon, but don't be fooled by its name. Bill and Lance told us one time that Evil Pretty Bomber nearly killed them in the end when she was about to take them and her entire base with her!"Wario (to himself): "...Yep, Bishop and his merry men at Weyland-Yutani have gone crazy."Venom: "You're just as much a nuisance as a group of unruly children, and as such, you are to be punished for your insolence!"Wario: "Shut up, Venom! You're no god, just a deranged psycho with an intent to kill people and expand your evil empire!"Sully (quietly): "Uh, Wario? You're sorta pissing him off here..."Venom (ignoring Sully): "Then you are not an uncommon sort of spoiled child!"Wario: "Okay, now I'm beginning to find it really hard to take you seriously! Arctic wasn't kidding when she told me one time a Bacterion God is usually a joke for a final boss in just about every Gradius game to date, even that big brain who claimed to have once been called by your name in Gradius V!"Venom (angered): "INSOLENT WRETCH! I'll tear you limb from limb and devour your bones for this outrage!"

In his rage, the Five-Eyed Green Devil grabbed Wario and Jaguar with one of the tentacles and combined his power with Evil Pretty Bomber's mutant form to transmit electricity through the arms, causing lightning damage upon the President of WarioWare Inc. and the CO of the Colonial Marines, much to Mona's displeasure. Venom followed up by slamming the victims' heads repeatedly against the ground and threw their bodies at Jimbo and Sully, toppling them over like bowling pins. Mona, on the other hand, retaliated with a Corkscrew Conk in a similar way her boyfriend usually does when attacking bad guys, stunning Venom momentarily. The shape of an octopus turned into circular slime with a bomb-like core inside. Fortunately, the attack pattern hadn't changed but on the negative side, neither Jaguar or his fellow soldiers had seen it in person. Therefore, they took upon Mona's advice to wait until the form shoots out some toxic blobs to expose the bomb core to attack, even helping her do as instructed. After the weak spot was damaged, the bomb core exploded, sending globs of slime flying all around, including the Bacterion Enforcers. Everyone, regardless of faction, got caught in the blast, but not bad.

As soon as the blobs reformed, Dr. Venom changed once again, this time into a giant bird-like creature recognized as Plasma Bomber's monstrous form: Plasma Roc.

Venom: "Enough! Time for all five of you to surrender to your shared destiny: IN HELL!"Jimbo: "Only when it completely freezes over, you bastard!"

Carrying his scythe once more, Venom flew around whilst the Bacterion Enforcers hopped onto his back for a combined airstrike of their own. Immediately he dropped napalm eggs, each bearing a green skull with five red eyes to reflect his true self. Jaguar warned everyone to get out of the blast range just before the explosives hit the ground. Had they been a second late, the fiery blasts would have incinerated them in no more than ten seconds. Upon successfully averting death, they prepared themselves for a bullet hell-esque airstrike from the Bacterion Enforcers' evil versions of our Spread Gun, Laser Beam, and Homing Missiles. Though they minimized the damage accumulated, the venomous fang-like bullets actually induced poison upon their bodies.

Venom: "Heh heh heh, it seems I failed to mention that with my power inside their artificial bodies, they have the ability to...well, you've probably guessed from the pain you feel at the moment."Jaguar: "Not...gonna...die...tonight..."Wario: "A little poison...ain't gonna kill me or my pals!"

Right after Venom landed on the surface to swing his scythe back and forth, Jaguar got up and knocked it off with his katana blade, in addition to carving a big "X" on his body, causing him to writhe in agony with some of his blood coming out. Angered, he grabbed Jaguar along with Jimbo and Sully in an effort to choke them to death, just before Wario and Mona came to the rescue by jumping, punching, and kicking his face (whilst dodging more poisonous shots from the Bacterion Enforcers) until Venom lost his grip and blew them backwards with an ear-splitting screech, prior to changing back into his normal form.

[End BGM]

Venom: "Urrrgh...dam you...but I still have the advantage thanks to the Bacterion Enforcers. The poison from their energy shots will kill you soon enough, so enjoy the last moments of your lives while you can..."(That said, he retreated by floating away with his three warriors, apparently heading to a faraway place on planet Bomber. In the meantime, Mona called us for help.)Mona: "Need...medical help...now..."5-Volt (via speaker): "What's wrong? You don't sound well."Mona: "Poisoned...by Dr. Venom's followers..."5-Volt (gasps): "Hold on, we'll be right there at once!"

Back inside Bomber Base, Blaze Bomber was at work helping Professor Ein, Dr. Crygor, and even Penny get the Chrono Crystal reassembled. Along the way, he learned a little more about the crystal's power that emanated from ancient times, in which only the Bombermen native to the planet we're on could tap into the crystal, should the need ever arise. It was blessed by the goddess Mihaele so that evil may never steal it for themselves...or, so the people believed. However, the other species can't utilize the Chrono Crystal because its ancient energy could destroy them in the process, as theorized by the historians today; this led us to believe that our future selves who came in through the space-time anomaly were Arctic Bomber and Blaze Bomber because of their reincarnation as Bombermen today. Still, we had to see it for ourselves in order to prove it's true.

9-Volt: "So it's sorta like that Phase Distorter, which Ness and his three best friends used to travel back in time to stop Giygas in EarthBound, but in order to do that they had to have their souls transferred to four robot bodies as the machine's power can't transport organic beings without destroying them..."Phoebe: "Only now, the Chrono Crystal seems to only work for the Bombermen. You think White and Pink could also have been in the Contra Cruisers with Arctic and Blaze...?"Cheerful White: "Huh?"Cute Pink: "What are you talking about?"Phoebe: "...Nevermind. I was just wondering, that's all."Yuffie: "Right now, stopping Dr. Venom and the Bacterions is our main goal! Penny just told me that his base is located somewhere on the pinkish moon slightly above planet Bomber's atmosphere."Bill: "Then it's settled: Lance, Ami, Aaron, and I will go with Arctic and Blaze by using the Bomber Craft, while they pilot our Contra Cruisers."Lance: "The Bomber Craft can hold up to two people at a time and looks to be combat-ready, if not as powerful as our space cars nor any of the four Gradian ships. Bottom line: we won't need more than two to help out."Professor Ein: "Are you sure you want to do this? You realize that if you go to the fortified moon base now, chances are you may not return..."Arctic Bomber: "Worrying a bit much, aren't you, gramps?"Me: "She's right. We've been through worse, and we have heard stuff like this before."Ami: "In a nutshell, we'll be okay as soon as we figure out how to pilot the Bomber Craft. I'll go with Aaron, and Bill and Lance can take the other one."Cheerful White: "If what you guys think is true - not just 9-Volt and Phoebe - then Pink and I will go in the CC-Aqua with Blaze Bomber."Millian (gasps): "But it's suicide! You've never, ever fought the Bacterions before!"Cheerful White: "Until now, you mean. But don't worry, I've dealt with bigger threats either by myself or alongside an ally like Cool Black, for example."Millian: "But the bio-mechanical monsters have the power to assimilate, which the Garaden Empire didn't have! What if they--"Cute Pink (interrupting): "Look, Your Highness, just relax! I'll be with him all the way, while our friends are safe and sound. I promise, we'll help Arctic and Blaze put a stop to Venom's reign of terror once and for all. The Gradians also know how to prevent the Bacterion assimilation from screwing up the victimized planets beyond repair."Pibot: "I agree with Cute Pink. They did help us drive most of the threat out of Bomber Nebula."

[End BGM][Success BGM: Stage Select - Mavericks (Mega Man X5)]

Sooner or later, the Chrono Crystal was completed, and we wasted no time getting ready to depart in our Contra Cruisers and the Bomber Craft, but Queen Millian and Pibot were quick to interrupt us briefly with something important.

Pibot: "Before you guys leave, could you share some experience you had with those Bacterions on your planet? Her Highness and I have only heard about Weyland-Yutani's plans to use them toward their desire for godlike power, but that was it."Me: "It's a long story, but we'll keep it as short as possible since we need to leave immediately. Weyland-Yutani had been secretly stockpiling the Bacterion warships in space and brought them back to Earth for their Bio-Weapons Division. After finding out how dangerous the weaponized mechs could ever be, we had no choice but to destroy them at the source: the classified military base known only as Area 51."Ami: "Some may have speculated we were in the wrong to have 'destroyed government property', but oftentimes we were in the right. We even explained in the Supreme Court that if we hadn't done what we did, the Bacterions would have self-activated by now and left the base to endanger mankind with no remorse."Bill: "But even after the court order for Weyland-Yutani to cease and desist, it turned out they were also stationed in London, England and Tokyo, Japan; not just San Francisco, California in the United States. Either way, recent studies show that they went underground, as in the underworld, to avoid getting caught. Until now, we only assumed they went underground but not in a literal sense."Lance: "Apparently, Bacterion technology goes for millions, maybe billions, on the black market, especially those that weren't all destroyed off the face of the Earth. Weyland-Yutani desired to regain their power by any means necessary, so they had to look in another direction. Like Bill said, we didn't know what they had been doing all this time. All we knew was there had been reports of illegal arms shipments milling about with a bunch of confiscated Bacterion weaponry."Yuffie: "Every so often, I'd pitch in with Arctic and Blaze to help the Contras stop those shipments from being passed on, though I was surprised that even the remnants of Dracula's demonic butchers wanted in on the action so they'd compensate for the fact that the famed Belmont clan got rid of him for good after many centuries...I know, it's a long story since it happened on Earth."

When we finished explaining what had been going on all across the Earth, 5-Volt got a phone call from Mona, who said that she and her allies had been poisoned by Venom's followers and required medical attention immediately. Thus, we settled on our plan: Yuffie would accompany 5-Volt and King Billy Bling to help cure the poison and bring the injured group back here, while Queen Millian and Pibot remained inside with Dr. Crygor and Professor Ein to look after our young friends. White and Pink, on the other hand, volunteered to get inside the Contra Cruiser Aqua with Blaze Bomber. Arctic Bomber entered the Contra Cruiser Flame, but not before King Billy wished her the best of luck on behalf of himself and the Rich Bombers, whom he had willingly kept safely aboard the Interstellar Diamond. At first, he thought about leaving them in charge of his castle in Hollywood back on Earth in case of a Bacterion invasion, but then he realized his Money Dynasty couldn't just sit around and do nothing while he's out risking his life to help us defeat the Bacterion Empire.

Me: "Before we come to the point in which you and Arctic must use the Chrono Crystal to travel back in time, I need you to borrow my Contra Rifle. You do have some useful power-ups generated ahead of time, don't you?"Blaze Bomber: "Yes, Aaron...but don't you need it in case we don't make it back alive?"(He reluctantly takes my holy-powered rifle as Ami placed her hands on his shoulders.)Ami: "We'll be fine, Blaze, don't worry. Arctic's gonna need some additional Contra firepower from here on out, anyway."

Mission 14: Bomber StarOnly one obstacle stands between the Contras and the gate to their final destiny: the end of the Bacterion threat and Dr. Venom's reign of terror on the moon of planet Bomber. Needless to say, the appearances of their future selves could only come true if they make it all the way to the end prior to utilizing the Chrono Crystal's power to travel back in time.Unfortunately, only Arctic Bomber and Blaze Bomber - accompanied by Cheerful White and Cute Pink - are capable of going into the past because the Chrono Crystal's energy doesn't work on humans.November 11, 20XX12:30 AM

Wasting no time we flew across the battle-ridden skies of planet Bomber to pursue Dr. Venom and his cohorts, all the while radioing our mission to the pilots of Vic Viper, Lord British, Jade Knight, and Falchion Beta. In return, they acknowledged by going into the Organic Fortress beneath the surface to destroy its core brain to save the planet from the Bacterion assimilation, but not before wishing us good luck in our battle against Venom at his personal space fortress on Bomber Star.

Blaze Bomber: "This is it, the Bomber Star. We'll be going in fast as though it were a speed-up zone in any Gradius game to date."Arctic Bomber: "In other words, we increase our speed as we fight on. Crap, there are BigCore MK-Is headed our way!"Me: "They're coming in fast! Dodge or destroy them, it doesn't matter."Ami: "Our lives are what's more important at this point!"

As hordes of BigCore MK-Is flew by in hopes of ramming our ships, we did exactly as instructed, though Arctic tried her best to destroy at least one or two of them before she'd veer out of harm's way so she wouldn't crash the CC-Flame. Afterwards, a swarm of small mechs pitched in to slow us down only to be destroyed, with some coughing up the power-up pods for our Contra Cruisers. Arctic and Blaze managed to acquire enough to give themselves two Multiples each, in addition to the Laser and 2-Way Missiles as well. The Bomber Craft, however, were not designed to utilize the pods to increase their weaponry, but we didn't need to do that since they're fairly powerful enough on their own. We only needed to be careful not to crash into the gates opening and closing throughout the speed-up zone. Taking a few hits along the way was one thing, but run into a dead-end and Venom would have one less fleet of intruders to destroy.

No sooner than we navigated our way through the area did we reach the Five-Eyed Green Devil himself, though not in a way we had expected. Then again, we were busy guarding Bomber Base with our lives that we didn't notice him taking the forms of the mutated versions of the Five Dastardly Bombers due to Weyland-Yutani's genetic meddling endeavors.

Venom: "You again?! As if it weren't bad enough your friends injured me and my followers tonight...but they failed to kill me! They're poisoned now and will never survive before you can destroy my fortress!"Ami: "Don't bet on it, Venom!"Me: "Four bad guys, four of our ships. Whatever happens, don't waste a single shot."Arctic Bomber (smirks): "Say no more, Aaron."

In spite of his injuries, Venom was still able to put up a fight in his Plasma Roc form. He let out an ear-splitting screech from his mouth, temporarily disrupting our concentration enough for the Bacterion Enforcers to open fire with their evil versions of our Spread Gun, Laser Beam, and Homing Missiles. Fortunately, the Bomber Craft were redesigned in a way that the pilots are fully protected and wouldn't get shot in the face so easily. We were getting pummeled time and again, with Venom charging up a kinetic breath on his mouth.

Venom: "Such a pity you've learned an important lesson too late in your lives: Never challenge the power of a Bacterion God!"(Just then, a large laser beam strikes him and the Bacterion Enforcers from out of nowhere.)

Hey, Bomberman! Different time, different invasion to stop, and you still need Max's help. It's good to see you, buddy!

Cheerful White (thinking): Max?

A black ship flew by, resembling a Bomber Craft with the exception that it had a silver mohawk-like design on top of its hull. Inside was a cybernetic Bomberman in a black suit, bearing a red cape on his back, blue eyes up front, and a silver mohawk-esque headpiece atop his helmet. According to his profile as described by Professor Ein, he originally hailed from the distant planet Phantarion as a human, the blue-eyed samurai that became known as "the legendary hero" who single-handedly drove off the Five Dastardly Bombers during their attempt to conquer the planet on behalf of their master Bagular but was badly injured after he fought with Brain Bomber. As a matter of fact, this incident pretty much happened sometime before Cheerful White was pitted against the Five Dastardly Bombers twice, perhaps even years before Red Falcon had them reprogrammed to serve him in his efforts to plunge Earth into what humanity feared to be World War III.

Since that time, Max had to be converted into a Bomberman cyborg with many hidden and modified abilities. Thus, he entered an intergalactic police force at Bomber Base, the same one that White is part of today. Though he came off as competitive and arrogant at first and preferring to do things his own way, he had a strong sense of justice and is a good friend of White's.

Max: "It's been a while since the time we took on Mujoe and the Hige Hige Bandits, White. Sorry I was late, I got a little roughed up back on the surface when the so-called Bacterions attacked before you guys arrived. I managed to make my escape when they lent me a hand against those mechanized creeps."Cheerful White: "You mean the Vic Viper and the other three ships from planet Gradius?"Max: "Yeah, those four. How'd you know?"Cute Pink: "Just wondering."Arctic Bomber: "Can we talk about this later? We've still got Bacterions to pulverize!"Blaze Bomber: "You're more than welcome to help us out, Max. It's nice to meet an old friend of White's."Max: "Right back at you. Professor Ein filled me in on the details after the Gradian pilots helped me escape. I've heard so much about you guys and your campaign to take out the joint forces of the Five Dastardly Bombers and Red Falcon on your planet Earth."Ami: "I always knew you're a good guy for the most part, even though the Bomberman Jetterz anime depicted you as otherwise..."Max (confused): "Anime?"Ami: "Nothing. It's a long story."Me: "My best friend and fellow Contra is a bit curious. She's from Japan where that show only originated in, while I'm from the United States."Bill: "Lance and I are both from the US, too. But introductions aside, let's get Venom and his followers!"Venom: "You'll pay for your insolence! Here's where I'd change into another form, Golem Phantom, to even the odds, but lucky for you it's not as well-suited to aerial combat as Plasma Roc. Either way, that is of little consequence for the time being. Should you live, I'll be waiting for you at the end of your trip fully recovered, but I doubt you'll turn up anyway. Beacon, attack!!"(He takes his leave, while the aforementioned warship took his place.)Lance: "We'll stop you yet, evil coward!"

It was now five of our ships against one circular attack craft. Known by the Gradians as Beacon, it bore five blue cores that we must destroy. Rather than just shoot lasers like the BigCore MK-I, Beacon charged up and released four laser streams, in addition to the reflective lasers that semi-aim in our direction. If that weren't enough, we also had to contend with the chamber's walls on the ceiling and floor that formed a little maze by closing just about halfway at different angles. To make things more difficult, Beacon fired many bullets in a haphazard stream while releasing napalm bombs up and down that erupted in a trail of fire along the ceiling and floor, restricting our movement further to the center.

Fortunately, our Contra Cruisers' weapons were powerful enough to damage Beacon's cores, but we could only destroy so many at a time before we'd revert to dodging more enemy fire and trying not to crash. As a result, our ships took some hits from both the flames and the laser streams; the damage didn't stop us from reducing Beacon to bearing only one core left. Now it was forced to rely on reflective lasers and two haphazard streams of plasma bullets. Needless to say, only our piloting expertise enabled us to avoid taking more damage (not to mention almost crashing on occasions) and take out the last core, causing Beacon to detonate in a big explosion at the end of the fight, eliminating the initial threat at hand.

[End BGM][Stage BGM: Wily Star (Mega Man V (GB))]

But that was only the first half of our attack on Venom's impregnable fortress, we still had a long way to go before we'd reach him and its master control. An armada of small ships came out for an attack only for us to take them out, coughing up some power-up pods for our Contra Cruisers to acquire and activate the third Multiple for each one along with the force fields. Because we were no longer in the "speed-up zone", our ships need not maintain their maximum velocity. Thus, we took a moment to run a scan for any damages inflicted upon ourselves, and came out clean - just about 10% damage to each of our starfighters. Had we been anxious from all the napalm bomb explosions we witnessed and not kept our cool...well, one can already imagine what the outcome would have been.

Max: "Looks like we've got company!"Lance: "It is Venom's home base, we have to expect heavy resistance. Blaze, do you think we can still make it?"Blaze Bomber: "Definitely, as long as we keep our wits together. There's gonna be a lot of maneuvering and close calls from here on out; thus we can't afford to crash our ships."

Our fellow Contra couldn't have done any better with his prediction because now we have to navigate between very thin paths whilst destroying more Bacterion mechs getting in our way. In just seconds, the walls started moving from the floor and ceiling to form a maze-like defense line, restricting our movement once again. At one point the walls made a small pocket upon slamming shut; we were fortunate to have positioned ourselves in that pocket area, otherwise we'd have been crushed to death by now. Then the area opened up again, followed by a wall in front of us that was about to close quite quickly. Sensing this wall might not reopen, we wasted no time speeding our way through to save ourselves.

Ami: "Gradius V, anyone?"Arctic Bomber: "No need to state the obvious at this point, Ami, but I'll let it slide."Me: "I see about four large, floating cylinders and a few laser beams coming from the floor and ceiling up ahead. You can guess how many more we'll see along the way!"(To emphasize my point, we took a shot at the cylinders to send them rolling in spite of them being indestructible.)Blaze Bomber: "We can use them as shields to pass through the beams unharmed. Follow my lead, everyone!"

Since the Multiples were virtually indestructible as long as their respective ships aren't heavily damaged, Arctic and Blaze positioned our Contra Cruisers so that the Multiples are stationed in front and able to move the metallic cylinders. Max, Bill, Lance, Ami, and I provided cover by taking out the enemy mechs, turrets, and Duckers, thus giving our Bomber-pals the upper edge in blocking the laser beams from frying us to atoms. All it took at this point was common sense: when the beam is blocked from below, we go above the metallic cylinder, and vice versa.

After getting past the final beam, we encountered a bunch of spherical magnets that looked to be space mines in disguise, but they'd only drag themselves closer whenever neither of us are moving our ships. Arctic, Ami, and I recalled how much of a pain it was without losing a life in Gradius V, but fortunately the situation didn't last long as the magnets eventually self-destructed.

Cute Pink: "There he is, fellas! It's Venom!"Cheerful White: "Now we've got him cornered this time!"Venom: "Graaaargh! You continue to p*** me off with your perseverance, though it hardly matters anymore. Now that I've recovered my wounds, it's time I gave you reasons to fear Dr. Venom, the all-powerful Bacterion God!"Max: "We're not licked yet!"

Dr. Venom resumed the battle in his Plasma Roc form alongside the undead Spread Garnet, Laser Amethyst, and Homing Jasper. Of course, we all knew who to take out first, but since there we had five ships at our disposal, we divided ourselves into two teams: Bill, Lance, Ami, and I will keep the Bacterion Enforcers occupied, while Max would help Arctic and Blaze take on Venom. The villain began by spewing fireballs from his mouth, followed by his kinetic breath, razor-sharp wings, and egg-shaped napalm bombs. The battle raged on for nearly five minutes with both sides taking damage, when Venom had this to say:

Venom: "You are doing well, I'll admit, but remember what I said about the Golem Phantom form not being as well-suited to aerial combat as Plasma Roc? Guess what..."(He transforms into the aforementioned phantom, and materializes his scythe again.)Venom: "I lied! And just so you don't pull any sneaky underhanded tactics at this point..."

The next part came as unexpected: He stunned our ships with an electrical beam through pinpoint accuracy, followed by the scorpion-like Option Hunters flying in to steal our Contra Cruisers' Multiples. Then a giant gun wall appeared from behind for Venom to fuse his heavily-damaged Bacterion Enforcers' bodies with its three respective cores; afterwards he changed shape into the digital Brain Virus we all knew well, and possessed the gun wall, known as the Keeper's Core. Finally, he utilized its gravitational pull that was linked to the floor and ceiling to give us a difficult time.

Venom (telepathically): I'll have you know that I personally designed the Vic Viper a long time ago when I was employed to Gradius's services, and therefore I know its weaknesses. I sense your Contra Cruisers had been modified with the same speculations I gave the accursed starfighter, so I came prepared. By the way, my electric beam also stripped you of your power-ups, leaving you no choice but to fight the Keeper's Core empty-handed!

We were in for yet another fight of our lives, forced to contend with the Keeper's Core's artificial gravity waves that are constantly trying to pull us toward the top and bottom so we'd crash and burn. Its shielded cores fired plasma shots along with the acidic variations of our three aforementioned Contra power-ups due to the fusing effects of the Bacterion Enforcers.

Arctic Bomber: "Aaron, Ami, now would be a good time to fill me in on how we can blow this thing to hell, because I suck at fighting it in Gradius V without getting killed a lot!"Ami: "First off, we need to fight the gravity!"Me: "I know you've probably heard it before, but always keep a cool head!"Blaze Bomber: "Just...gotta...take out its three weapons first...!"Bill: "Don't look up or down, just aim and shoot straight!"Lance: "Once we get rid of the gravity, Venom won't have an unfair advantage upon us."Venom: Your pitiful ships are useless, and so is the Chrono Crystal you possess!

Under the Five-Eyed Green Devil's control, the Keeper's Core resumed its bullet hell spree with diamond and plasma shots alike, along with the venomous fang-like bullets from the Spread Gun and Homing Missiles. The Laser Beam fired straight, which wouldn't be difficult to dodge if it hadn't been for the gun wall's artificial gravity waves we still have to endure. Struggling as hard as we could to avoid getting killed in just a few hits, we barely managed to cheat death by working around the waves and the bullet hell storm, getting a few shots in on the gun wall's three weapons. With careful timing, we took them out one by one to completely shut off the artificial gravity waves, just inches away from accidentally touching its Laser Beam.

But the Keeper's Core was not done yet, for it began to move back and forth whilst continuing its bullet hell attack, its cores still powered by the fused Bacterion Enforcers. Arctic and Blaze concentrated on taking out the small turrets that would regenerate every five seconds upon destruction, whereas Max helped us blow open the barrier panels for the core on the bottom that was firing the Homing Missiles. Luckily, they were destructible unlike our own variation to compensate for their deadly attack power. As soon as the core was destroyed, Homing Jasper's fused body perished in the ensuing explosion, prompting us to go for the top core fused with Spread Garnet's power. Just then, the Keeper's Core rammed its way forward in an effort to crush our ships. We got banged up, but not bad.

Even though the Keeper's Core slammed our ships, it didn't stop us from taking out the barrier panels for the top and center cores right before it reversed itself to resume battle. However, it added an extra attack to its arsenal: deploying the stationary laser cannons we encountered earlier. We only had enough time to destroy the top core (killing Spread Garnet's fused body instantly) before the metallic cylinders came in from behind us, either bouncing on the ceiling or the floor toward the gun wall itself. Recalling how we used them as makeshift shields to get past the beams, we increased speed on our ships so neither of us would bump into each other or the obstacles by mistake. The metallic cylinders exploded like space mines upon hitting the gun wall, but the blasts didn't seem to be doing much damage for us other than temporarily disable the turrets. The bottom line: we navigated our way past the beams and the laser fire from the center core, blew open the barrier panels, and backed away the moment the Keeper's Core rammed itself forward again. This time, it was by a miracle that we didn't get smashed again. And finally, we destroyed the last core, not only killing Laser Amethyst's fused body inside, but also causing the mobile gun wall to break apart and detonate in a huge explosion.

[End BGM]

When the blast cleared, the next thing we saw was Venom's Brain Virus form, having escaped in time to flee again. Just as it seemed the battle was over, we had yet another giant mech to face shortly.

Cheerful White: "Is this the part where a huge spider-like walker shows up after we destroy the gun wall?"Cute Pink: "Ewww, I hate spiders..."Max: "Uh, guys? That looks bigger than a spider walker..."

[Boss BGM: Elephant Gear (Gradius V)]

Taking a closer look, we saw the giant walker coming our way in the shape of an elephant, identified by our Contra Cruisers' AI computers as the Elephant Gear. It sported six pointy legs on each side, though it looked like we'd only need to destroy one side in order to cripple the whole contraption. The downside: each of its two sides spawned over 12 cores to blow up.

Arctic Bomber: "I dunno how we're gonna get past this huge-ass mech, fellas..."Blaze Bomber: "We will survive, Arctic! We all have to, not just for the sake of our friends, but also the planets Earth and Bomber as well!"Me: "We'll keep the Elephant Gear occupied! You four go on ahead and take out the master control for the enemy space fortress!"Ami: "White, Pink, it's all up to you to help Arctic and Blaze to the bitter end - any way you can!"Bill: "Bring Venom down for us!"Lance: "Let's make it count, people!"Max: "White, let me give you piece of advice real quick: whatever happens at this point, don't hesitate, for when the time comes, just act! I'll see you and Pink on the other side..."

Timing their movement just right, Arctic and Blaze veered our Contra Cruisers past the Elephant Gear's moving legs, blasted the Duckers walking by, and through a gate with only seconds to spare before it closed up. As for the five of us, we opened fire on the 12 cores that opened up. Then again, we expected to have to circle around time and again whenever it walked past us before all of its cores are destroyed. With plenty of close calls and careful timing, we blew up the cores on its left side, causing it to lose its balance and explode upon hitting the floor. Had either of us been a second late, we would have been crushed by its oppressive weight. In the end, we came up to the closed gate, and left a final message to Arctic, Blaze, White, and Pink that we survived, and we'd wish them luck before leaving to destroy the rest of the fortress.

[End BGM]

Meanwhile, on the other side of the gate, Arctic Bomber tried shooting at what she assumed to be the master control, only to no avail.

Arctic Bomber: "dam, nothing's denting it! I'm sure this is our only way for the Chrono Crystal to work!"Blaze Bomber: "Hang on, Arctic. I've got a distinct feeling we've seen this structure before. Let me pull up the CC-Aqua's AI computer real quick."Cheerful White: "So is this the part where we go back in time now?"Cute Pink: "Shhh. Let the computer talk."

[Briefing BGM: Player Select (Contra ReBirth)]

Scan results: The object is the same as the one that was orbiting planet Bomber, said the CC-Aqua's computer. The outer shell is impervious to any weapon the Aqua and Flame variations of the Contra Cruiser can utilize. The only solution is to enter through the rear hatch and destroy the cores located therein. There are two cores which must be destroyed simultaneous, and while this operation requires two ships, at least four are highly recommended with two on each end.

Arctic Bomber (excitedly): "Ha, HAH! We were so right all along! The two space cars from the future were in fact driven by us!"Blaze Bomber: "Yep! And all that's left for us to do is make it happen, so without further ado, let's create a space-time anomaly in between and time warp to the past. If I remember correctly, we saw the enemy flagship come out of the anomaly on...ah, there we go! November 10, 20XX, at exactly 8:25 AM!"

That is a highly dangerous operation, warned the computer. Scanners indicate that you and your ships may not survive the outcome, even with the Chrono Crystal hooked up.

Cute Pink: "Not a chance, cuz history's on our side!"Cheerful White: "It's now or never, so let's do it to it!"

With a huge blue light emanating from the Chrono Crystal within the CC-Aqua, the four heroes were teleported along with the stationary flagship through the aforementioned anomaly into the past. The final battle against Dr. Venom would begin soon enough.

Elsewhere outside Interstellar Diamond, the Contra Cruisers flew above planet Bomber alongside Lieutenant Jaguar's crew. As expected, the Bacterions had already shown up before our past selves, they made the effort to take them out. Suddenly, a portal appeared out of nowhere with a giant flagship coming through. WARNING: There is a space-time anomaly forming, said the CC-Aqua and CC-Flame's computers in unison. Three objects have emerged. Ship identification code cannot be processed for the large craft. The others are Contra Cruisers Aqua and Flame.

But that's impossible! came the first words on the radio from the future versions of the Contra Cruisers. Arctic Bomber, Cheerful White, and Cute Pink were relieved to have made it to the past along with the Bacterion flagship, just as Blaze Bomber believed.

The Brother in Flame began the transmission, though not before altering the settings a bit so his face would be obscure. Pink was confused, but White surmised Blaze intended to do that so as to not alarm our past selves.

Blaze Bomber: "Can you read us? This is Contra Cruisers Aqua and Flame. We don't have much time, so listen closely. In order to defeat them, we need your help. We have to get inside the flagship through two different rear hatches and destroy the core at each end. Both must be taken out, or there's no future for either of us."

As much as Arctic wanted to recall from Gradius V again, she kept it in her head like before and went along with the plan. While our past selves ordered the fleet to take out the enemy stragglers, Blaze and Arctic headed on through to deal with the Bacterion flagship inside. Whilst dodging the Option Hunters that flew by by to see if there were any Multiples to steal and ingest, the future Contras blew open the hatch on the right, and got inside to take out the sentry guns and fighters alike. Unsurprisingly, they expected some damage from their defenses, though they came out okay despite getting shot at least once or twice. After making it halfway through the interior of the flagship, the four Bombermen were blocked by a group of large, one-eyed circular monsters moving across the ceiling with their tentacles. They opened up their eyes and shot out a spread of green energy bursts. Blaze and Arctic couldn't afford another damage, but since they hadn't been picking up enough power-up icons to get the force field, they instead chose to stick with one Multiple on each of our Contra Cruisers. Holding onto the air brakes for as long as they could, they barely squeezed in-between the energy bursts whilst returning fire, until the creatures burst into green guts.

[End BGM][Fight BGM: Bacterion (Gradius III (SNES))]

Finally, they came to the rendezvous point just before the hatches closed up. Our Contra Cruisers, along with the past counterparts, confronted a large alien brain, flanked by two eye-shaped cores. Neither one offered any resistance, leaving our past selves to obliterate the core on their end and take leave.

Bill's voice came on through the transmitter, The core on our end is history.

Blaze Bomber: "Okay, you go on ahead."

Roger that, said Lance's voice. We're outta here now, so good luck!

Blaze Bomber: "You too!"(The past versions of our Contra Cruisers took their leave and blasted open the frontal hatch of the enemy flagship.)Arctic Bomber: "Now can we talk?"Cheerful White: "I think so."Cute Pink: "Let's get the other core, Blaze!"

Wasting no time, the two Contras, supported as always by their young Bomber-pals, blew up the other core that flanked the giant brain. Then it begun speaking angrily in response to being defeated: I am just a small part of what was known as Venom. Pieces of myself are scattered throughout the cosmos...but eventually, another will become sentinent and exact retribution. Though you do not appear to be native of planet Gradius, not one of you will ever escape the shadow of fear! Heed my last words: my hatred for its kind, in addition to those on your planet and humanity on Earth, shall be eternal!

[End BGM]

The alien mastermind of the Bacterion flagship detonated in a large explosion, starting up a chain reaction which would eventually cause the aforementioned craft to self-destruct with a force of up to ten atomic bombs going off simultaneously. Blaze, Arctic, White, and Pink sped up the Contra Cruisers and flew out of the Bacterion flagship through the frontal hatch that was blown open a minute ago. Reaching minimum safe distance, they watched as the enemy craft exploded harmlessly above planet Bomber's orbit.

Arctic Bomber: "So...that's it, huh?"Cheerful White: "Maybe because we weakened Venom enough to a point in which possessing that giant brain was his last option."Cute Pink: "Then it's safe to assume that's the end of the Bacterions for good."Blaze Bomber: "But about that brain's last words..."Arctic Bomber: "What? What last words?"Cheerful White: "To be honest, Arctic, I don't know."Cute Pink: "Me neither..."Blaze Bomber: "Let's not worry too much about it. It's likely a historical fact that as long as evil exists, the Bacterions will return again."Arctic Bomber: "Speaking of which, I've always wondered for quite some time: where did the Bacterions come from? And what motivated them to keep trying to conquer planet Gradius through assimilation? ...Nevermind, let's just go home."

Thus, the Bombermen activated the Chrono Crystal's power and flew through an open portal to return to the present...

...But then all of a sudden, the portal began showing unusual signs of flashing different colors. Instead of taking the Contra Cruisers back to the present, they ended up in some kind of alien dimension, as if they were trapped in-between the fabrics of time itself. And if that weren't enough, the Contra Cruisers mysteriously vanished into thin air, and yet the passengers were able to stand with no signs of falling into an unknown chasm.

[Interlude BGM: The Great Northern Cave (Final Fantasy VII)]

Cheerful White: "What the heck is this place?"Cute Pink: "I don't know, but I'm scared!"Arctic Bomber: "And how come there's no surface at all? Yet we're...I mean, we've..."Cheerful White: "What is it, Arctic? Do you recognize this from a video game?"Arctic Bomber: "No...I've never been here before. I mean, it looks like something I'd come across in a Contra game, and yet..."

Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm...How utterly cold of you to leave me all alone. You're just like all the other so-called heroes: you defeat the villains, and leave them in the dust as you make your escape. Did you really think you could just leave?

Cute Pink (gasps): "Dr. Venom?! But...but that's impossible!"Cheerful White: "We blew up that giant brain you took form of in order to destroy the Bacterion flagship!"(Venom's malevolent spirit appeared, his five red eyes in the usual upside-down "T" pattern on his face.)Venom: You're half right, but what you never predicted was my being here aboard your ship while you made your escape, still in my Brain Virus form all the way. My speech was merely to get you thinking you destroyed me at last, but I got out of the flagship's brain and hid myself within your Chrono Crystal so that when you activated it, I'd tap into its power so you'd be taken here instead of back to your future.Arctic Bomber: "Huh?! But that would mean..."Venom: You're beginning to understand, and I think I heard you wondering where exactly the Bacterions came from. As your reward for getting this far, I'll tell you all I know of their existence before I kill you.Blaze Bomber: "At this point, I'm not surprised to hear it won't be a pretty sight."(He readied my Contra Rifle, while Arctic got out her Neo Contra Rifle.)Venom: A long time ago, when I was still the Director General of Gradius's Space Science Agency, I secretly took it upon myself to reading up on the history of the Bacterions, which would later become one of my motivations to plan a coup d'état to overthrow the Gradian government. Of course, you already know my other reason being that they did nothing much for my people, instead brushing us off as primitive and only wanting us for our extraordinary powers that could be used for energy. We were very vulnerable to radioactivity from space, not to mention the Northern Cross War caused wreckage to fall on the surface of Gradius, its radioactivity being high enough to kill most of us off. The cowardly demons of the government did nothing about our well being, yet later I would become employed alongside Special Colonel James Burton in a war against the Bacterions.Blaze Bomber: "The Northern Cross War...I've read one time it happened during James's descendant, David Burton's journey into the past aboard the Vixen, a space fighter designed with the Vic Viper's schematics sometime around Gradian year 6718. Turns out that war was started by you when you cooperated with the resurrected Gofer, one of the Bacterion Gods."Arctic Bomber: "In other words, you probably must have caused the death of your own race by starting the war, just to kill James Burton's past self."

Before she could say something else, she and Blaze were zapped by Venom's laser eyes, though fortunately not to a critical extent.

Venom: I don't suggest finishing your part of the story. What the cowering historians did not reveal to you was the fact that the people of Gradius once created the Bacterions.Cheerful White (gasps): "You lie, Venom!"Venom (chuckling ominously): Why don't you journey onto planet Gradius sometime in your lives and see if I lie? Better yet, I'll tell you anyway.Cute Pink: "Blaze, what's he trying to tell us? White and I don't trust him to do it!"Blaze Bomber: "I'm afraid this is something even we Contras don't know about. We have no choice but to listen to Venom for now."Venom: Long before the first war against the Bacterions, the aforementioned biomechanical beings were originally created as an interplanetary defensive force, to protect Gradius against all threats from around the galaxy. They would function in a hive mind under a biomechanical leader, typically a Bacterion God, in their efforts for the good of mankind, but as their power grew, so too did their arrogance and paranoia. A flaw in their design drove them to madness, because the government cowards only wanted them to protect just one world, if not a single region. In time they strove to expand themselves as living weapons, firstly by targeting planet Gradius. It is true that no matter where you're from, whatever you create just might rebel against you when you least expect it, right?Cheerful White: "Well, uh..."Venom: As the people of planets Earth and Bomber might say, the truth hurts. Anyway, upon learning everything I knew about the Bacterions' existence, I knew exactly how they felt, so I rounded up some of my fellow colleagues who were also of the Wreek like myself to rebel against Gradius, but our efforts only resulted in my arrest for "dangerous and illegal experiments", as well as my banishment to the prison planet Sard. However, I managed to make my escape a year later and conspired with the Bacterions to invade planet Gradius...well, I'm sure you know the rest by now.Arctic Bomber: "Let me get this straight: after you came back from the dead about 200 Gradian years later, you went into the past to commence the Northern Cross War, meaning you might have had something to do with the Bacterions' intent to revolt on Gradius to expand their hive through assimilation. Sounds like I'm getting a bit more intelligent everyday, doesn't it?"Venom: I'd drop the smirk if I were you. In fact, I had hoped to avoid revealing this vile shape before your very eyes, for it was granted upon me during the time I swore eternal allegiance to the Bacterions, only to be used in the most desperate situations as a last resort. But you've spoiled all my plans, stood your ground against me ever since the foolish Weyland-Yutani resurrected me from the dead, and even freed the Bomber Nebula from the Bacterion assimilation. In spite of that, I haven't lost my special powers as a Wreek overall...but I can see into your minds, your worst fears all bottled up. And perhaps your own selfish desires too, but that's beside the point. You, Blaze Bomber, who had lost your people centuries ago in a bloody war and became brainwashed against your will. Though you were set free and swore to fight alongside your fellow Contras, you had also feared that the imperfect humans have the potential to revolt and form the planet's variation of the Red Falcon Empire. What are you fighting for, and why are you fighting for them if all they would ever do in the end is clash against each other, much less kill one another in bloody wars to come? Do you know humanity's purpose of living since you're not from Earth to begin with? Well, no concern of mine!Blaze Bomber: "That's not completely true! Humans, much like the people of planet Bomber, still hold the potential for good! Not all of them are bad!"Arctic Bomber: "Yeah! I mean, look at me! I was once a cold-hearted criminal, but no more - never again!"Venom: Heh heh heh heh...is that so, Arctic? The very same Arctic Bomber who hated losing your own winter-themed kingdom, but also at the same time held the desire in your head to put the pink-haired Ami Onuki out of existence so you'd have Aaron for yourself as your so-called Pin King.Arctic Bomber: "Bullcrap! I already dropped that obsession long ago ever since I helped the Contras and their close friends destroy Red Falcon and his intergalactic goons during World War III!"Venom: And finally, Cheerful White and his best friend Cute Pink, the former whom at one point feared would eventually suffer in obscurity; the latter being afraid that people would come to a unanimous agreement that she was and will still be a spoiled brat; proud of her looks and obsessed with handsome men, not to mention putting herself first but hates losing and getting dirty, instead relying on her boys to protect her.Cute Pink: "I...I may be afraid, but that doesn't mean I can't fight back, and I'm not a spoiled brat anymore...am I?"Cheerful White: "I just know people won't forget about me even as the years go by...and that my good name would never die."Blaze Bomber: "Guys, don't listen to Venom. He's trying to demoralize us so he'd have an easier time killing us!"Arctic Bomber: "Blaze's right, Venom! You're a freakin' joke, not to mention just another alien scumbag with an inflated ego and an unhealthy obsession with conquering worlds!"Venom: I don't expect any of you inferior vermin to understand, so I'll just have to force the issue. You'll pay for my humiliation with your lives, for once I'm through, not a single strand of your DNA will remain! Now, get ready to feel the true power of a Bacterion God...

Pausing in mid-sentence, the Five-Eyed Green Devil focused on his energy to take form of a silvery humanoid with a long antenna-like tail atop his head, standing over twenty feet tall. He balled up his fists, ready for one last battle before succumbing to oblivion.

Mission 15: Trapped in timeIt is I, Blaze Bomber...I've only got a short amount of time to bring an update on our current situation, since we're out of contact from our fellow Contras and everyone else. We're now stuck in this alien dimension with Venom, and it looks like he's done toying with us. Although the exact date and time are currently unknown due to our being trapped in here by the Chrono Crystal's power, this is the least of our worries right now.Aaron, Ami, Bill, Lance...give us strength!

"Your friends can't help you now! The Bacterion Empire will live on, even if you've already expelled my followers from the Bomber Nebula!"

Venom's words rang out loud in the alien dimension as he assumed his silver humanoid form. He charged up some energy balls in his hands and threw them down with one arcing upward, inflicting damage. Blaze Bomber responded by putting the Laser Beam and Homing Missiles into my Contra Rifle and fired away, backed up by Arctic Bomber's repeated usage of the Fire Whip's charge shot on her Neo Contra Rifle until Venom teleported elsewhere. Drawing his arms back, he solidified them into spears as though he had liquid metal skin, and aimed directly at Cheerful White and Cute Pink.

Blaze Bomber: "White, Pink, get back!"

Turning on my Contra Rifle's 5-hit barrier, he dived right in front of the young Bombermen just before Venom thrust his makeshift spears forth, taking damage for them with his body and sacrificing the Laser Beam power-up he was currently using.

Blaze Bomber: "URGH!!"Venom (snickers): "Hurts, doesn't it?"Cheerful White: "Not as much as our bombs are gonna hurt you!"(He throws some bombs, which Venom easily dodged by teleporting to another corner.)Cute Pink: "Blaze, are you okay?"Blaze Bomber: "I feel like I got stung, but I'm okay, thanks to the barrier feature on Aaron's Contra Rifle...Look out!"(He gets her and White out of harm's way before Venom could impale them again with his arm thrusts.)Arctic Bomber: "Whoa, that was close! Hang on, fellas - I'll make sure he doesn't pierce our bodies to death!"(She charges in with her Neo Contra Rifle pointed upwards, dodging some of Venom's arm thrusts and fired some of charged-up Energy Shots to inflict more pain on him.)Venom: "You're good, but it's only a matter of your time before your fellow Contra's protection runs out!"Arctic Bomber: "Then we'll just have to destroy your first form quick!"

The notorious Bacterion God reappeared in the opposite corner of where the Bombermen were, throwing another barrage of energy balls before flying downward for a dive bomb. Everyone got knocked over just after they avoided the bursts, but were able to cling onto his back and blast him with their own attacks until he shook them off for one more attempt at an arm thrust. Arctic and Blaze, however, struck their final blow on his form by combining their ice and fire powers for the Particle Bomb, ending the first part of their final confrontation against him.

Venom: "I wouldn't get cocky if I were you, I'm just getting started!"

With that, he changed shape into a large, silver frog-like abomination with a red diamond situated above his eyes, and began "swimming" around the alien dimension. Then he stopped momentarily to puke out some vomit at the group only for it to fall short, just barely touching the skirt on Arctic's short dress.

Arctic Bomber: "Guugh! Barf down on the invisible floor-like whatever, why don't you?!"Venom: "Oh, that one I did? It was merely a taste of what my new form has in store for you, but alas, I can't guarantee the next time I vomit won't be an acidic end on your part..."(He follows up by spitting out some red q-tip looking rods from his mouth.)Cute Pink: "Blech! Now that's also gross!"(She blasts the q-tips with her bombs, causing them to retract for a bit.)Cheerful White: "I don't think our bombs can destroy them, but maybe we can still jump over them!"

On the white-clad Bomber's words, Arctic and Blaze helped him and Pink leap over the red q-tips despite having only a short amount of time to inflict damage before Venom "swam" away to prepare another attack. The menace came back at top speed and started glowing prior to streaking his way across the dimension, slamming into the heroic Bombermen back and forth before they could even react, much less crouch underneath. Luckily, though, Blaze didn't lose his Homing Missiles since he kept it in reserve on my Contra Rifle. After recovering from the pain, he got out the Crash Missiles power-up and added it to my rifle's empty weapon slot.

Combining the missiles with Arctic's Energy Shots, the Contras were able to destroy Venom's frog-like form with White and Pink slowing down the red q-tips with more of their bombs, ending the second part of their final battle against him. In spite of this, Venom wasn't too worried as he took his next form: a large jellyfish that can actually survive out of the water.

Arctic Bomber: "I bet this is the part where I rely on my Neo Contra Rifle's standard-issue machine gun once again."(She switches to just that on her gun, while Blaze Bomber changed to his Homing Missiles on mine.)Venom: "I can tell you're all exhausted from a long trip, which makes it easier for me to kill you! Now why don't you just relax..."Cheerful White: "We may be tired, but far from dead. I've seen worse in my life as a hero...!"Cute Pink: "Try as you might to beat us, we'll still fight to our last breath, Venom!"Venom: "On the contrary, you're already at your last breath. But, there's still time to reconsider this conflict. Think about it: we're so alike in which we share the same destiny to oppose the corrupt government on both worlds. We should be running the entire galaxy as one in the name of the Bacterion Empire instead of trying to kill each other again and again. You know a Bacterion God always rejuvenates in due time after being defeated."Arctic Bomber (grunts): "Now where have we heard that kind of talk before? Because it sure sounds like Red Falcon talk to me!"Blaze Bomber: "And speaking of corrupt governments, an iron fist is the last thing an inhabited planet ever needs, for its power would often lead to civilization's ruin if left unchecked too long."Venom: "Pity. I never expected you to comprehend on my words anyway..."

Now in his silver jellyfish form, Venom floated around the alien dimension plopping out smaller jellyfish that floated slowly downwards. Fortunately they could be destroyed, but doing so would make them dive downward quickly and sting anyone in their path. Even though the jellyfish here are not of planets Earth and/or Bomber, it's obvious they still have the potential to kill with one sting. Blaze Bomber used his detachable scan visor to check the toxic levels and found out that the alien jellyfish's sting can not only kill a human or Bomberman, but also eat through anything metal like his artificial body for example with acid. Throughout the fight Venom continued floating around the vicinity clockwise or counter-clockwise. Arctic and Blaze swatted the smaller jellyfish away while White and Pink timed their bomb throws just right until Venom's jellyfish form gave up the ghost.

Venom: "Grarrgh...you know you're on the wrong side. Don't deny it!"

Onto the fourth part of the final confrontation, Venom morphed once more into a large, spherical cell with a nucleus inside. Arctic Bomber switched back to the Fire Whip and charged up its Energy Shot, whereas Blaze Bomber was too late to warn her not to hit Venom with that.

Blaze Bomber: "Arctic, wait!"Arctic Bomber: "No way!"(She fires anyway, causing the cell juices to splash everywhere all over her group's bodies!)Cheerful White: "AAAAACK!! What IS that stuff?"Cute Pink: "Nevermind that, why does it feel like it's gonna burn us?!"Blaze Bomber: "Quickly, your snowstorm, blizzard, anything!!"Arctic Bomber: "Oh, crap! Hang on, guys!!"(Thinking quickly, she unleashed a powerful controlled blizzard to neutralize the burning effects of the juices without freezing everyone, all the while stunning Venom momentarily.)Blaze Bomber: "Thanks, Arctic...that was close!"Arctic Bomber: "What was that all about anyway?"Blaze Bomber: "The giant cell you blasted with an Energy Shot from your Neo Contra Rifle was also filled with acid, according to my scan visor's data. Only rapid-fire weapons, like the machine gun you have in your arsenal, can damage the nucleus without causing the exterior to rebound tenfold as we saw just now. It's a miracle your blizzard stopped the acid before it could kill us..."Cheerful White: "I'm okay for the moment. What about you, Pink?"Cute Pink: "A bit singed like you too, White, but I'll manage."Arctic Bomber: "So this means we can't use bombs either, right?"Blaze Bomber: "I'm afraid so."

Having lost the Homing Missiles on my Contra Rifle, Blaze chose to stick with the default machine gun and save the Crash Missiles for later. Venom's only other defense was a swarm of star-shaped plasma shots that he shot out towards the group as soon as he shattered the ice on his current form; Arctic and Blaze immediately aimed their guns at the nucleus and held their ground while White and Pink got behind them so that the plasma shots are destroyed rather than hit them. In the end, the large cell began to weaken with some holes blown open, though Venom's screams could still be heard as his form enlarged itself to engulf everyone into its nucleus.

[End BGM]

A few seconds later, Blaze and the others found themselves inside the cell with a heart-like primal core in the center, hooked by various tentacles on the floor and ceiling. Luckily, the absorption process did not dissolve their bodies in the process, though the blinding flash caused Arctic and Blaze to drop their rifles.

Cute Pink: "Is this it?"Cheerful White: "Must be, but I don't like the looks of this."Arctic Bomber: "Whatever it is, it's gotta go if we're to get the hell outta here."Blaze Bomber: "Yes..."(All of a sudden, his voice gradually became distorted...)Blaze Bomber: "...but not before I smite thee!"

[Boss BGM: VS Andross's brain (Star Fox 64)]

Before the others could react, Blaze grabbed Arctic by the throat to strangle her whilst aiming his other hand at White and Pink, the latter two hugging each other for dear life. Upon hearing the all-too-familiar voice, they realized that Venom must have possessed Blaze's body while they were shielding their eyes!

Venom: "Surprised to see me inside your fellow Contra's body, Arctic? You should feel honored to have witnessed this historic event before you die by my hands...and his flame powers! And what better way to kill you than by using your own gun against you?"(He picks up my Contra Rifle only for it to reject his touch with an electric shock.)Venom: "Aargh!!"Cheerful White: "It's the holy power. No being with an evil, twisted heart may touch it."Cute Pink: "The same kind Blaze used through Aaron's rifle to harm your real body, no less."Venom: "Well, if I can't touch your Contra Rifle, then Blaze's flames will incinerate you. The only way to purge my spiritual form is to kill him, and like I said before, your friends can't help you! Either you obliterate your ally's body, or you die on the spot! Ha ha ha ha ha!"(Showing he meant business, Venom thrust himself across the interior to burn everyone down, though Arctic was quick to put it out with her snowstorm.)Venom: "Ahhh yes, this is the part where you sacrifice your fellow Contra's life for your own, isn't it, Arctic Bomber? Come on, unleash the most powerful blizzard that you can muster. You know you want to..."Arctic Bomber: "dam you, Venom! I oughta kill your sorry ass for stealing Blaze's mind and body!"(She switches to the Diver Mines and aims her Neo Contra Rifle, lowering it seconds later.)Arctic Bomber: "...No! I won't hurt you, Blaze! I'm not gonna kill you!"Venom: "Heh heh heh...you've got guts, girl. Too bad this was your only way to stop me at all costs, so therefore, you'll just have to die! I've been saving this for last all along!"

The Five-Eyed Green Devil made his approach, with Blaze Bomber temporarily coming to his senses trying to fight Venom's control over his body. "Arctic...White...Pink...listen quick! I'm being held against my will, and Venom's...uurrrrgh!"

"Ah, ah, ah. You mustn't spoil the surprise," Venom said mockingly, never letting go of his maniacal grin for even a second. "So, who shall be the first to die? You, or your so-called Brother in Flame?"

That said, he charged the flames on his fists and hurled some deadly fireballs, followed by a series of fire walls, all over Arctic, White, and Pink. Try as they might to fight back without harming Blaze's body, they couldn't even get close to Venom or the beating core in the center due to the flying worm-like aliens swarming around them.

[End BGM][Interlude BGM: Final Confrontation (The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Ages)]

Venom (cackling): "Aw, what's the matter, Arctic? Have I become impossible to defeat because you lost your will to fight? Do you need my help?"Arctic Bomber (grunting): "Don't...frickin'...tempt me...!"Venom: "But don't you want me out of his body right now? I'll give you a hint: since I already possess him, I've also acquired his weakness to extreme cold. The choice is yours!"Arctic Bomber: "..."

Whatever happens at this point, don't hesitate, for when the time comes, just act!

Remembering Max's words in his mind, Cheerful White got up and helped Cute Pink get on her feet. He almost fell over, but now it was her turn to support him by taking a few steps at a time while Arctic was still confused with both anger and fear. Eventually the two young Bombermen reached my Contra Rifle and grabbed the Spread Gun power-up that wasn't destroyed when Venom possessed Blaze Bomber's body, wasting no time putting it into the empty weapon slot alongside the Crash Missiles.

Cheerful White: "Arctic...use the holy power..."Cute Pink: "...Aaron's Contra Rifle can't hurt the innocent..."Arctic Bomber: "I know, but...!"Cute Pink: "It's just the same...as Ami's Bomberman Watch...and even Bill and Lance's M16 machine guns..."Arctic Bomber: "But I wasn't in the same league as them back when I was still working for Red Falcon as a Hate Bomber! What makes you two think I can use Aaron's gizmo now? Even after I've turned over a new leaf and became good, I'm not exactly pure of heart!"Cheerful White: "We've seen you in action now and then...fighting bad guys alongside your fellow Contras and all that...If you've truly turned good, you can survive touching the holy-powered rifle itself..."Cute Pink: "It's the only way...that you can expel Venom without killing Blaze Bomber...then we can finish the fight together..."

Arctic remained hesitant for a moment, but eventually came to her senses and touched my Contra Rifle. Though she expected it to reject her touch, it didn't hurt her at all. Then she turned over to White and Pink, and flashed them a weak smile as they managed to recover.

[End BGM][Hope BGM: Player Select (Contra ReBirth)]

Arctic Bomber: "I...I really can use Aaron's holy gadget now! Th-thanks for talking some sense into me, White and Pink."(She put down her Neo Contra Rifle in order to hold my Contra Rifle.)Venom: "Ah, I see you've managed to find your way around. Interesting, but it's still not going to help you in the long run!"Arctic Bomber: "Shut the hell up, Venom! You are getting out of my best friend's body, NOW! Though I stand alone for the moment, I am a Contra!"(Switching to the Spread Gun, she aimed my gun at Venom while Blaze Bomber came to his senses once more.)Blaze Bomber: "You aren't alone, Arctic...I know you can use Aaron's Contra Rifle to free me. He had to have a reason for loaning it to us earlier..."Arctic Bomber: "I know now. Hang on, buddy, I'm gonna get you back to normal real soon! That's a promise!"Cheerful White: "Pink and I will go for the core while luring the worm creatures away from you, Arctic! You purge Venom out of Blaze's body for us!"Blaze Bomber: "I'll try my best to continue fighting his control over me, though I'm aware it won't last long. When you can, bring out the Spread Gun."

[End BGM][Final battle BGM: Giga's Rage (Salamander 2)]

Venom (regaining control again): "You'll never free your best friend from my reign, and since you won't consider my offer to overthrow the simpering fools of planet Gradius at my side anymore, you can expect true pain!"

Indeed Venom remained hellbent on killing Arctic Bomber before going straight for Cheerful White and Cute Pink, but one thing's certain: Blaze Bomber wouldn't ever let that happen; therefore he fought the evil within as best as he could, but can only slow Venom down for so long.

Elsewhere, White and Pink were still fighting for their lives against the primal core, figuring it to be the source of Venom's control over Blaze Bomber's body. Whatever the truth may have been, they put that aside and performed some tag team attacks of their own, all of which involved being creative with their bomb throws and kicks alike. They kept blasting until the structure around the core weakened so that it'd take damage. Arctic Bomber, on the other hand, saw her chance and fired the Spread Gun from my Contra Rifle without hesitation, sticking up close that Venom would be the one feeling the pain, not Blaze Bomber. It wasn't easy doing all this in the quickest time possible since Venom kept trying to regain control and burn his foes to cinder, but fortunately it didn't take much to finally expel him and destroy the primal core at the same time. The Five-Eyed Green Devil writhed in agony as the tentacles broke off from the primal core, leaking bodily fluids all over the floor.

Venom: dam YOU!! This...is impossible...! I was so close...I almost had you! You were supposed to be demoralized beyond comprehension!Cheerful White: "Guess you should have done your homework, Doctor!"Cute Pink: "We good guys are like a happy, caring family and we love each other!"(At this point, Blaze Bomber was back to normal, his voice no longer distorted by Venom's possession over his body.)Blaze Bomber: "No matter how strong or dangerous the evil may be, we will come out on top or die trying. That is what Aaron, Ami, Bill, and Lance had always hoped for, and Arctic and I - being the heroic Contras alongside them - feel the same they do."(Arctic gives him back my Contra Rifle whilst picking up her Neo Contra Rifle once more.)Arctic Bomber: "And like I said before, Venom, you're just another evil-hearted alien scumbag with an inflated ego and unhealthy obsession with dominion!"Venom: This isn't over...NOT BY A LONG SHOT!!

The Five-Eyed Green Devil's current form weakened as the Contra Cruisers Aqua and Flame began to reappear before the two Contras and the Bomber-kids. Immediately they got inside and flew out of the nucleus within the giant cell, which had become so unstable it exploded, causing the entire alien dimension to go out of control whilst being engulfed in flames. Venom came after the heroes again, now in three different forms combined into one abomination: humanoid on top for a head, frog for a body underneath, and jellyfish tentacles for legs. He grabbed hold of the Contra Cruisers in a last-ditch attempt to take his mortal enemies with him into oblivion.

Venom: "You'll never escape alive! I'll take you to hell with me if it's the last thing I do!"

Realizing if they simply continued to escape as usual while being incapacitated, Venom would easily destroy our Contra Cruisers with them inside, Arctic and Blaze set their space cars to autopilot while White and Pick sat tight in their passenger seats all buckled up, got out their magnetic boots to put on, and jumped to the roof through an open window.

Blaze Bomber: "This is it, Arctic! We only have one chance, and if we miss, we're all done for!"(He switched to the Crash Missiles on my Contra Rifle.)Arctic Bomber: "Either way, we'll at least have defeated Venom forever. Let's take him together!"Blaze Bomber: "For Aaron and Ami."Arctic Bomber: "For Bill Rizer and Lance Bean."Venom: "DIE!!"

The final part of the two Contras' fight against Venom continued as the latter spat fireballs from the frog's mouth, which they side-jumped to avoid despite getting hurt. With only the Spread Gun power-up left in his arsenal, Blaze switched back to just that and fired away, backed up as always by Arctic's Neo Contra Rifle's Heavy Machine Gun. Venom charged up some energy balls on the humanoid's hands and threw them downwards, barely missing the Contras.

Venom: "The Bacterion Empire will live on forever, whether a different Bacterion God takes my place or not! You can never hope to truly vanquish us from the universe, for we always come back!"Arctic Bomber: "Screw you, creepo!"Blaze Bomber: "The Bacterions' reign of terror ends tonight!"(They kept their aim steady, in addition to combining their ice and flames for the Particle Bomb attack one last time...)Arctic and Blaze (in unison, triumphantly): "We are Contras!!"

Maintaining themselves as best as they could in spite of their injuries throughout the entire confrontation, the Contras dodged Venom's attacks prior to unloading on him some more, ending with their tag team Particle Bomb which struck the final blow. Blood began spewing out of his body as he was losing his grip on the Contra Cruisers, but he kept ahold by the tentacles, dragging them into the fiery abyss with every last ounce of his strength. Arctic and Blaze, fearing for their lives, got back inside their respective space cars and closed up the windows on the driver side prior to buckling up their seat belts. Regaining manual control on the Aqua and Flame variants, the Contras tried their hardest to evacuate at maximum velocity so as to loosen Venom's grip over them. It was only a matter of time before he was finally blown off and sent careening into the fiery abyss of the doomed dimension.

[End BGM]

Venom: "No! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Venom's dying body rapidly shifted out of control between the Five Dastardly Bombers' monstrous forms, and the humanoid, frog and jellyfish apparitions, and back to his current one before he was finally incinerated into nothingness by the flaming supernova, ending his reign of terror at last. As for the Contras and the two young Bombermen, they all prayed for hope when they activated the Chrono Crystal one last time, opening up a dimensional rift and flew through it just before the hellish dimension went nuclear.

[Victory BGM: Kirby's Triumphant Return (Kirby Super Star Ultra)]

Arctic Bomber, Blaze Bomber, Cheerful White, and Cute Pink had finally flown out of death's door and back to the present time as the dimensional rift imploded in on itself, signaling their victory over the Five-Eyed Green Devil himself.

Blaze Bomber: "Whew! We finally made it back home!"Arctic Bomber: "You said it, Blaze! Man, that was a hell on Earth...but we did it. Venom's gone for good."

[End BGM]

With that said, they returned to planet Bomber for a hero's rest alongside me, Ami, Bill, Lance, and all our friends who stood tall against the threats of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation and the Bacterion Empire. However, because we were all exhausted, we'd have to turn in for the night before we can confirm the Bacterion threat to have been expunged from the Bomber Nebula.

It was finally over. Venom is dead, the Bacterions have been driven out of the Bomber Nebula, and we had done our part in freeing planet Bomber while Arctic, Blaze, White, and Pink were finishing the job in the past. Thus, we spent the rest of the week helping the four Gradian pilots end the Interdimensional War on planet Gradius, in addition to repairing the damage inflicted upon civilization on both planet Bomber and Primus Star. In the meantime, we came to discuss with Weyland-Yutani's surviving CEO on the things they did, and why Venom and the Bacterions are considered dangerous to all organic life. Of course, we expected him to tell us this was all part of an ultimate solution to terrorist threats.

Bishop: "I hope you're all happy. Taking out the Bacterion God and all the mechanoids that were meant to serve our purpose, firstly on Earth at a CLASSIFIED base of all places, now in outer space. Back when Weyland-Yutani was still alive and not forced to cease and desist, we were gods, but you lesser beings insisted on judging us as corrupt beyond reason. You are the reason terrorism continues to thrive this day, it's because you never could make the hardest decisions to do what was absolutely necessary to eradicate them all. Sometimes the only way for Earth's civilization"Me: "Hate to sound like we're repeating ourselves, but it had to be done. We TOLD your boys now and then the Bacterions are extremely dangerous, especially the warships they usually have at their disposal."Ami: "And 'lesser beings'? We deserve to choose for ourselves on how we can counteract terrorism to ensure worldwide peace and justice, but destroying everything just to remove a few bad apples won't solve the problem!"Bishop: "Haven't you heard of acceptable losses? You can't make an omelete without breaking a few eggs."Bill: "That may have been somewhat reasonable back in the day, but it's not gonna cut it here."Lance: "There's a reason Bacterions are not meant to be tampered with."Bishop: "It seems we will never come to an agreement when you continue to deny our efforts. You leave me no other choice but to issue a federal warrant for your arrest. Believe me, I didn't want to have to come down to this, but since you and your friends killed most of our cloned soldiers, alien Xenomorphs, and Bacterion mechanoids..."(He raises his right hand, as if to bring forth someone else.)Bishop: "Sniper...Axe...they're all yours."Me (gasps): "You mean to tell me YOU revived Sniper Bomber and Axe Bomber, as in the two Hate Bombers who served Red Falcon to the bitter end as his loyal generals?! Bishop, are you off your rocker?!"Bishop: "Anything can be put to good use when you put your mind into it, even if it was once considered a dangerous threat."Sniper Bomber: "Save your breath, Bishop. We'll kill them because we want to. It's you who's served your purpose, for all we had to do was play on your desires until it was too late to change the outcome."Axe Bomber: "Yeah, we've been 'encouraging' you to do your illegal experiments all this time, because you let your desires go to your head! The only 'Bacterion God' around here is gonna be Lord Red Falcon, and only him!"Sniper Bomber: "In other words, we also owe it all to you, Contras! Ever since Weyland-Yutani brought us back to life with the help of some Bacterion cells they've been playing with, we're back in business - and ready to rule. But, we can't do it if Lord Red Falcon is still dead, which we intend to correct shortly. Imagine us combining Venom's remains with Lord Red Falcon's spirit..."Blaze Bomber (thinking): So that was the malevolent voice we heard. It wasn't that evil demon Sthertoth, it was Red Falcon all along!Arctic Bomber (thinking): dam, why didn't we notice it earlier?! Oh that's right, we were fixated on getting rid of Venom...but I thought there was nothing left of him after he died...Sniper Bomber: "Oh, but you thought wrong! Surprised we can read your minds now? You see, we can still sense his presence, even when he's long gone."Axe Bomber: "Heh heh heh...might wanna check your Contra Cruisers while you can!"Bishop: "And by the way, I'm not really Bishop..."

Suddenly, he changed into a certain purple liquid metal android, whom we had once crossed swords with last year in spite of us admitting we completely forgot about him!

Metamorph Bomber (earlier marked as "Bishop"): "Then again, it was exhausting pretending we're on a mission to repel all terrorism. But you're right for once: Weyland-Yutani shouldn't meddle with things they do not understand, and the biggest mistake they made...eventually cost their CEO his life. We knew you'd try snooping around to expose the illegal Bacterion experiments, so we hid ourselves until the time was right."Cheerful White: "Then that means...you took out the real Bishop at one point and stole his identity?"Metamorph Bomber: "Ahh, such a smart kid you are, White. And yet you said out loud you guys forgot all about me."Cute Pink: "We didn't completely forget that, it's just that we didn't see it coming."5-Volt: "What do you really plan to do with the Bacterions?"Axe Bomber: "Ah, the wife of a coward whom Purple Basilisk once ordered to be KIA...and to answer your question, we plan on expanding them under our rule!"5-Volt: "My husband was never a coward! He died valiantly as a police officer in his efforts to drive the likes of you out of Diamond City!"Axe Bomber: "He died a coward because he and his posse refused our demands to submit to Lord Red Falcon during the Alien Wars! Hah, defending the powerless and the weak...!"Sniper Bomber: "Like father like son, which means Purple Basilisk was right all along: your son is just as cowardly as your husband was!"Yuffie: "You leave poor 9-Volt alone! He's never a coward!"9-Volt: "As long as Phoebe and I still live, I'm not a scared little boy anymore!"Phoebe: "I still protect him this day, but at least he sticks with me and our friends to the end!"Metamorph Bomber: "All this talk about cowardice is beginning to bore me. Oh, and I'd pay attention to Axe Bomber and look at your Contra Cruisers again if I were you..."

We reluctantly did what the Hate Bombers said, and saw the Contra Crusiers glowing purple, followed by a giant one-eyed brain reforming itself with a malicious laughter booming out loud. It turned out not a moment too soon that it had absorbed the remnants of Venom; apparently he had a backup plan even in death. Perhaps that last-ditch effort he did to pull Arctic, Blaze, White, and Pink into the fiery abyss in the hellish alien dimension wasn't meant to kill them after all...

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha HA HAH! I am reborn not just as the leader of the Red Falcon Empire anymore. I am now a Bacterion God! Kneel all those that stand before me! Mwa ha ha ha ha!"

Millian: "We will NEVER kneel to you!"

"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Contras?" Red Falcon's resurrected brain eyed me, Ami, Bill, Lance, Arctic and Blaze. "We had so much fun last year, but I suppose explaining myself won't kill me. After all, you worked your butts off to destroy Venom and his Bacterion Empire. It may be difficult to believe, but it turned out my soul managed to survive death. In spite of this, I was left with nothing else to rely upon for my revival, but then I eventually came across something very interesting on your planet Earth. News in the depths of hell were abuzz about how you crossed swords with General Shepherd and blew up Area 51 to destroy the Bacterion warships inside."

Sniper Bomber: "In a nutshell, Lord Red Falcon discovered the power of the Bacterions that Weyland-Yutani had been secretly stealing for themselves, even after that court case you had to deal with. All it took was his 'persuasion' to resurrect us with a promise that they'd be rewarded with the ultimate solution to terrorist threats."Blaze Bomber: "And by tapping into the remnants Venom left within our Contra Cruisers when we killed him..."Sniper Bomber: "That's right: Lord Red Falcon used this energy to revive himself before your very eyes!"

"You could say Venom and I conjoined in spirit for the sake of your deaths. The battle, the angst, the destruction! We'll show you the true might of a Bacterion God so epic, Venom'll have wished he thought of it! He and his empire had the right idea on assimilating more than one planet at a time rather than destroy them; we just need to add our own touch to the plan. A planet that is utterly destroyed is useless, leaving nothing for us to rule. Therefore, why rule only one planet when we can have two? Or perhaps three altogether?" Upon finishing his words, Red Falcon focused on the newly-gained Bacterion energy to rejuvenate his earthly body, a cross between a giant winged skeletal dragon and a chimera. We attempted to attack him only for Sniper and Axe to subdue us with lightning from their visors.

Sniper Bomber: "Ah, ah, ah! It's impolite to interrupt a ritual, you know."Arctic Bomber: "Enough of this bullcrap! We'll finish this right here, right now! We Contras will defeat you again!"Sniper Bomber: "Then come and get us! What are you waiting for? Ha ha ha ha ha HA! Better hurry before we do something bad to planets Earth and Bomber, and Primus Star too!"Red Falcon: "By this time the Bacterions will have already finished rebuilding the metallic Garaden Star in time for us to dub it as the Death Falcon MK-II! Bwa ha ha ha ha ha...oh, yes! Here they are now!"Lance (angrily): "You...you used us...!"Red Falcon: "And I'd do it again! As a matter of fact, I used all of you as part of my ultimate desire for immortality. The Crimson Stone and the Ztars were only the beginning, but even they could not stop your holy power from killing me. I've spent my afterlife studying up the Bacterions' capabilities of expanding their hive through the process of assimilation on other planets, and how the Bacterion God would eventually reform itself sometime after being destroyed. All this time you were part of an exam to determine whether my research came true, and you passed it with flying colors without guessing the truth. I'll admit, the one and only thing I love about you meddlesome Contras is how predictable you really are. Everytime you destroy me, you assume I am dead because a nuclear explosion goes off after you escape our main base, and then you get on with your precious lives. But now that the fragment of Venom's Bacterion cell is within me, I no longer need to rely on my followers just to resurrect me, seeing how utterly difficult it was to do so. No matter how many times you kill me, I'll return again and again, because the greatest thing about being a Bacterion God is that they always come back to haunt pathetic bipeds like you...whether they want to or not!"Bill (growls): "Figures..."(The rebuilt Garaden Star hovered above planet Bomber with three laser cannons pointed in three different directions.)Red Falcon: "Oh, and one last thing: the Death Falcon MK-II can open a wormhole to another dimension, or in this case your Solar System where Earth is located. In a matter of hours, it will be nothing more than an alien planetoid for all Bacterions and my brethren...though I can't guarantee your kind will survive the outcome!"Axe Bomber: "Say good bye, Contras, 'cause it's been miserable knowing you!"Sniper Bomber: "As much as Axe and I are more than happy to obliterate your worthless corpses on the spot, we have bigger plans, but you're more than welcome to try and stop us. The Bacterions always come back, for as long as their god lives, they will continue to multiply and assimilate other organic planets for their own!"Me: "We'll find your weakness. Everything isn't complete without a weakness."Ami: "Our combined holy power and Star energy will--"Sniper Bomber (interrupting): "Be sufficient in your efforts like last year? Sorry, but you're gonna have to do better than that!"

Not if I can help it! came a voice with the roar of a dragon, followed by none other than the Hallowed Father to all Eidolons, Bahamut himself. He had been summoned by 5-Volt to our assistance, but before his Megaflare could decimate the three malevolent leaders' bodies, the Death Falcon MK-II's dark-powered beam, which Sniper and Axe unofficially coined the Giga Flare Ray, not only cancelled it out but injured Bahamut as well.

5-Volt: "No! Bahamut!!"Bahamut: "Urgh...I am okay, but I fear this time Red Falcon has enough power to surpass my own. You must find another way."Blaze Bomber: "We'll do what we can, Bahamut. Thanks for coming to help."Bahamut: "I was guided here not only by your friend's beckoning, but Mihaele's as well. We will combine our powers to form a holy barrier to deter all attacks from Red Falcon's new-and-improved base, but it will only be enough to cover one planet. You must stop him at all costs before it is too late for Earth, Bomber, Primus Star, and perhaps the entire universe."Max: "Looks like we'll be working together again, White. The Red Falcon Empire must pay for their war crimes against the innocent."Cheerful White: "I second that, Max."Cute Pink: "That goes for me!"Penny: "I'll help Dr. Crygor and Professor Ein determine the true weakness for the Bacterions, and combine it with holy power and Star energy."Mona: "Wario and I will come help you!"Jaguar: "Jimbo, Sully, and I solemnly swear that we'll fight alongside you to the very end."Ami: "No, we need you guys here to guard our friends. Somebody's gotta do it while we're out in space, but if we don't make it back alive, we want you to go next. That poison from Venom and his Contra Killers' attacks almost killed you. Who knows what other unpleasant surprises Red Falcon and the Hate Bombers might have picked up in store just for us?"Jaguar: "Point taken."Bahamut: "Then it is settled. I will provide cover while you fly your vessels up into space."Me: "We appreciate the offer, Bahamut. Let's do this."

[End BGM]

TO BE CONTINUED...

[A/N: The concept of Red Falcon having harnessed the power of Dracula's accursed Crimson Stone at one point is actually in the retooled version of my Diamond City Chronicles series, which you can see on my FanFiction.net profile. I am WarioMan3K there, just like on DeviantArt.]

We could not believe our very eyes that Red Falcon of all hellish, gargantuan monsters would be able to revive himself. He knew from the beginning we'd all assume him to be dead whenever a massive explosion consumed his planet-sized domain, and had since used his opportunity among the dead to manipulate the scientific minds of the people of Earth, preferably those who would choose alien bioweaponry over universal peace. Over the months, he secretly studied the Bacterions and their way of reproduction through the process of assimilation, and came to a realization that if he could only harness the power of a Bacterion God (who would by then have been revealed upon resurrection as Dr. Venom) by absorbing his soul, he and his two loyal Hate Bombers could become virtually invincible. And now that he had finished using everyone to his twisted heart's content, he was now in full power once again and ready to ravage across the universe from the confines of what used to be the Garaden Star. Nothing could penetrate the Death Falcon MK-II's force field, not even Bahamut's Mega Flare, unless we acted now...

King Billy: "This crap has to end, and I'm in full agreement with you and Blaze there, Arctic. Both planet Bomber and our world are in serious trouble. I can't just sit around and do nothing! That's all I've ever done - I mean, that's all any of us from the blasted Money Dynasty has ever done up until the Mushroom Stone incident: nothing! From now on, no more competing to be rich like you once told me; we work together with your fellow Contras and all our friends to overthrow that oversized psycho, Red Falcon! If this means I gotta give my life alongside you to help our cause...I'll do it."Arctic Bomber: "Then let's fight to the very end. But just one detail bothers me: how the hell are we gonna get up to this hellhole of a planetoid if Bahamut couldn't get close?"Blaze Bomber: "We'll have to capture Weyland-Yutani's military space station. I've already ordered a mandatory evacuation on both the Interstellar Diamond and Celestial Pearl colonies since it's only a matter of time before the Death Falcon MK-II's Giga Flare Ray obliterates them."

[End BGM]

Yuffie: "I'll go with you guys."Jimbo: "Are you crazy?!"Sully: "Yeah, what if you--"

[Assurance BGM: Final Mission (Metroid Fusion)]

Yuffie: "Remember what I told you earlier about bravery and not letting a single loss demoralize you? We need to show everyone the courage we've got to help ensure our victory over the evil forces of Red Falcon!"Jaguar: "Which is why I intend to assist you in your efforts."Blaze Bomber: "But that poison almost killed you. What makes you think you can continue fighting?"Jaguar: "Jimbo, Sully and I are more than prepared to join our fellow soldiers in heaven."Jimbo: "What?! But...o-okay. We'll do it."Sully: "Just exactly how will that help penetrate the Death Falcon MK-II's force field?"Blaze Bomber: "I'll explain as soon as we get to the military station's command bridge. Yuffie, you go with White, Pink and Max into the Contra Cruisers alongside Aaron, Ami, Bill and Lance. They'll need your White Magic support more than we do now."Yuffie: "...Alright, Blaze. But what'll happen to you and Arctic, and the other guys who are going with you...?"Jaguar: "Don't worry about what will become of us. Focus on helping the original four Contras. Our Gradian allies will make sure we get inside Weyland-Yutani's base safely."Arctic Bomber: "Besides, Yuf, if Blaze and I could cheat death to ensure our survival against Venom, how hard can it be to penetrate Weyland-Yutani's remaining Bacterion-infected forces?"

After finishing her conversation, Yuffie ran off to join White, Pink, Max, and us Contras as we had finished preparing our CC-Aqua and CC-Flame for one final strike mission - one that might be planets Earth and Bomber, and Primus Star's last hope for survival against the evil Red Falcon.

Me: "We're glad you've decided to help us out again, Yuffie."Ami: "What we're about to face is likely stronger than we've ever faced before."Bill: "However, we all know there's still a way to win. Let's do this."Lance: "White, Pink, Max, are you three ready? It's now or never!"Cheerful White: "Heck yeah we're ready, Lance!"Cute Pink: "That overgrown space devil's going down!"Max (to White): "It'll be just like old times, eh?"Yuffie (happily): "Our combined power of positive feelings will prevail!"

[End BGM][Stage BGM: Neo City (Contra 4)]

Mission 16: The Back-Door methodOur plans are in motion: Arctic and Blaze's group have concluded that the only tough enough way to penetrate the Death Falcon MK-II's force field is by capturing the Weyland-Yutani space base. However, they will have to move fast as Red Falcon is already dead set on destroying the Interstellar Diamond and Celestial Pearl space colonies without delay.Regardless of how well the plan goes, the Four Contras - along with Yuffie, Cheerful White, Cute Pink, and Max - must jet forth into the heart of the malevolent base itself, their two Contra Cruisers against an entire Bacterion armada in an effort to buy Bahamut enough time to ensure the safe evacuation of all the civilians from the space colonies.November 17, 20XX12:00 PM

Having captured the dropship that "Bishop" used to converse with us, Arctic and Blaze led their allies up into space whilst knowing their ruse would not last forever. As soon as they boarded the Weyland-Yutani military station, it was as King Billy had dared not to imagine: the Bacterions have infected the entire complex with all of the cybernetic forces assimilated into serving one purpose: to kill all "inferior life forms." Early on, the group encountered a UFO-like dropship that deployed two Bacterion-infected Zero Men, whom Billy still remembered this day as the Master Chief-ripoffs from Bomberman: Act Zero, though he insisted that no one should ever speak of them nor the game again. The dropship's red eye was open for a moment, giving Jaguar ample time to slice it with his katana before it was ready to launch a volley of napalm bombs at his group, destroying it instantly. Halfway through the route to the command bridge, a CGI human head-like apparition materialized from a computerized generator in a room surrounded with computer screens, each monitoring the battle at hand. Arctic tried to wonder if she ever fought it before in a Contra game, but Blaze insisted that she focus on the battle at hand.

Arctic Bomber: "Well, that UFO dropship showed up in Contra III: The Alien Wars..."King Billy: "True enough, and it's in Contra: Shattered Soldier along with that 3D head-like mini-boss!"Arctic Bomber: "Oh! I figured as much..."Jaguar: "Less chat, more fighting! We have to get to the command bridge before it's too late for both 5-Volt and Bahamut! If a summoned Eidolon dies, then the person who called it perishes as well!"Jimbo: "9-Volt's family life isn't ending like this; we won't let it!"Sully: "Let's blow this thing and retake control!"

The Mistress of the Cold whipped out the Fire Whip on her Neo Contra Rifle and unloaded on the CGI head, burning away the ion rings it shot out from the forehead. Then it floated backwards and fired a pair of lasers across the floor back and forth, prompting everyone to jump over the beams until the CGI head stopped firing and returned to the front. By that time, Arctic's Fire Whip had shed off half of its outer layer to reveal a brain. As soon as she finished breaking up the exterior, the now CGI brain floated above her and everyone else, releasing droplets of pink, acidic liquid, followed by pouring out an entire load from beneath itself. Arctic and Billy resisted the urge to vomit at the sight and resumed fire, having dodged out of the way. In the end, the CGI brain's defeat set off a shockwave which destroyed all the computer screens in the room without warning, enabling the group to move on once again.

Suddenly, a pair of blue claws tore through the wall with a metal-grinding, ear-piercing noise, and out came the all-too-familiar skeletal robot: Robo-Corpse, only now he's also been infected by the Bacterions! Fortunately, though, his tactics hadn't changed a bit, or so Arctic and Blaze believed.

Blaze Bomber: "I'm willing to bet Red Falcon sent him to kill us, so we'll have to defeat him the old-fashioned way."Arctic Bomber: "In other words, we find ourselves a chance to chop off his head before he chases us into who-knows-where!"(Robo-Corpse could only hiss at the group, lacking any means of intelligible speech.)King Billy: "Yup, he's been infected by the Bacterions, alright."

The skeletal robot, albeit cramped up due to his actual size, was still able to attack by spewing fire, all the while crawling after Arctic and Blaze's group. The Bomber-girl charged up the Energy Shot on her gun and let loose one after another to his head, giving everyone ample time to run all the way to the command bridge. Though they finally captured it, Robo-Corpse was still chasing them. He managed to corner them whilst holding the wall open as a door, prompting the two Bombermen to bombard him with their Particle Bomb attack until he lost his grip on the wall. Predictably, it closed in on him before he could retreat, chopping off his head whereupon it exploded along with his entire body.

Jaguar: "The whole station's secure, but our space colonies are badly damaged out there!"Blaze Bomber: "Then I'm afraid there's only one thing to do..."(He breathed in and out.)Blaze Bomber: "We will have to ram the station into the Death Falcon's force field and the Giga Flare Ray."Arctic Bomber: "WHAT?!? But it'll kill us all!"Jaguar: "Either that or our friends in their Contra Cruisers will die. We must pull it off together at all costs, team!"

[End BGM][Boss BGM: Bloody Storm (Contra III: The Alien Wars)]

Meanwhile, we were fighting our way past the Bacterion mechs to power up our Contra Cruisers in time for an incoming boss rush, giving ourselves two Multiples each, Laser beams, 2-Way Missiles, and especially Force Fields. A huge, widened, hexagonal arena enclosed in on us prior to a Circle Core appearing inside as well. Ami and I remembered just how tough it was to maneuver around the constantly-moving boss without crashing so many times in Gradius V, and we still remember its weakness, not to mention the gun turrets it deploys are destructible. The Circle Core rolled clockwise and counter-clockwise, releasing the turrets everywhere it went until it stopped to "jump" around in hopes of crashing into our ships. But thanks to Bill and Lance's piloting skills (Ami and I are the "co-gunners" at this point), we averted death and blew open the barrier panels to expose the Circle Core's blue center, timing our shots just right until it turned red and exploded, causing the entire structure to collapse in on itself as the Circle Core bounced out of control, resulting in an even bigger explosion.

Ami: "And there it goes! I can't believe I'm still breathing..."Me: "We're not done yet. Look!"

I pointed directly at the other Bacterion warship, a significantly-modified version of the Covered Core. Its MK-II variation was much tougher, for it possessed up to 14 cores to destroy this time. Normally, it held five cores, but then again, the actual number depends on the difficulty and/or loops. In addition, there were four main shiels which eventually rotate while the cores themselves also rotate within; the whole Covered Core MK-II slowly moved around while shooting many missiles and lasers. These missiles could be destroyed but many have special methods: those with blue thrust were normal; pink ones shot out a suicide bullet spread; and the yellow ones were a sunburst bullet spread. In short, that alone makes it difficult to survive as the Covered Core's shields rotated, firing a huge spray of plasma bullets all over the place and damaging the two space colonies even after we dodged them for our lives. Eventually the shields stopped rotating, prompting us to return fire. We scooted in carefully to take out the cores, but had a short amount of time before it went on the offensive again. We repeated the process about two more times until we destroyed all 14 cores, causing the Covered Core MK-II to detonate in a massive explosion. But unfortunately it didn't dent the force field on the Death Falcon MK-II, and the Giga Flare Ray was fully charged. Bahamut flew in once more to deflect the beam with his Mega Flare, only to be forced to retreat lest he be killed by the next shot. The Giga Flare Ray then obliterated the Interstellar Diamond and Celestial Pearl space colonies instantly, but Bahamut was fortunate to have held off the attack long enough for everyone to evacuate all the way to planet Bomber.

Cheerful White: "What are we gonna do when we can't even blast through the force field?"Cute Pink: "And Bahamut's getting weaker by the minute! I don't think we're gonna make it!"Blaze Bomber (via radio): "Out of the way, everybody!"Max: "Arctic? Blaze? Did you guys make it?"Arctic Bomber (via radio): "Yep, but we're taking heavy fire! You might wanna stand back!"

Extreme impairment, warned the military space base's computer. Main hull will not survive more damage.

Jaguar: "Who cares?! Divert all energy to the main guns! FIRE!!"(Using whatever power the Bacterion-infected station had left, Jaguar's group fired a powerful laser beam to destroy the Bacterion warships that came out.)

Damage capacity exceeded.

King Billy (via the Contra Cruisers' radios): "Too bad! We're all going out in style!"Me: "Hold on a second, guys! You can't just up and commit suicide!"Arctic Bomber: "Back off, all of you!!"Ami: "Arctic, what are you saying?"Arctic Bomber: "I know we may not survive, but this is our duty to help defeat Red Falcon and his personal Bacterion army...and I won't miss it for the world! And now you gotta fulfill yours as well, so no crying, got it?"Cheerful White: "Don't do it, guys!!"Max: "What the hell are you doing?! Crazy bunch of fools!!"Arctic, Blaze and Billy (in unison, via radio): "HAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGH!!!"

With us out of the way, they wasted no time ramming through the force field, breaking it apart momentarily as they smashed into the Giga Flare Ray, giving Bahamut enough time to finally blow it up with one last Mega Flare before passing out. As a result, our radios had a large amount of static and could barely hear Jaguar's warning. "What are you fools doing?! That shield will be right back! GO! Get out of here!!"

[End BGM]

Bill: "...Enough! Our fellow soldiers have done their part by opening the road for us! We've got to move on...without them!"(White and Pink were hugging each other, both in tears.)Lance: "So come on...COME ON! LET'S MOOOOOVE!!"

We flew both our Contra Cruisers straight through the hole in the force field just seconds before it closed up. The Weyland-Yutani space station, however, had a large amount of electricity arcing all over until it detonated, completely destroying the Giga Flare Ray beyond all repair along with everything inside that mobile base...

A tragic end it may have been for our six allies who assisted us, but we must not let their efforts go to waste, for much like Sergeants Mad Dog and Scorpion, they chose to give their lives so the rest of us would live.

We must not show the Bacterions any mercy, and that goes double for Red Falcon and his rejuvenated Hate Bombers.

Mission 17: Ultimate fate of the galaxyArctic, Blaze and a few other allies of ours have given their lives by opening a path for us to what we're sure is our final destination to determine the fate of planets Earth, Bomber, and even Gradius. Right now, Red Falcon and his loyal Hate Bombers are hidden somewhere in the depths of what used to be Garaden Star.Of course, as anyone would expect at this point, we'll have to overcome all obstacles, find Red Falcon, and strip him of his Bacterion God-like powers forever. As much as Ami and I dread to believe our friends would sacrifice their lives like that, Bill and Lance have given a reminder to never let it stop us from honoring their final request to free the galaxy from the Bacterions and Red Falcon, for we are in this together just like before.This is our final mission...we're sure of it, because chances are we won't be coming back alive when this is all done.November 17, 20XX1:00 PM

Not long after getting inside the alien/mechanical hybrid of a planetoid, we picked up some readings on our Contra Cruisers' radars, with Bill being the first to take note. "Lance," he called, "we've got uninvited guests following us." What we did not expect, however, were four Gradian ships coming to our aid. It seemed as though the Vic Viper, Lord British, Jade Knight and Falchion Beta had made it in time, but how they were able to outrun the explosion from outside the Death Falcon MK-II was another story.

[Reunion BGM: Gallery (Contra 4)]

Jade Knight: "Oh, thank the Gradian stars you're okay! When we saw the explosion, we were worried you might have perished along the way, so we dropped whatever we were doing against the Bacterion warships and here we are!"Falchion Beta: "We won't let our allies' honorable sacrifice be in vain, don't you worry."Ami: "Thanks, guys! I guess six ships are better than just two."Lord British: "So, you guys managed to survive unscathed, eh?"Me: "Just barely."Vic Viper T-301: "Let's do this! And by the way, I probably haven't told you this already, but I'm Captain Ebara, the current pilot of the Vic Viper T-301 model itself."Me: "That's okay. It's actually nice to hear your real name anyway."Vic Viper T-301: "One more thing: check your ship's computer. Penny Crygor and Blaze Bomber left you guys something very important before the sacrifice."Ami: "Oh, okay. Let's check it out."

Henceforth, we played the pre-recorded message. Everyone, this is Blaze Bomber speaking. If you're hearing this message and you notice a good number of Contra power-ups inside your ships' glove boxes, that means Arctic Bomber and I aren't around anymore. But don't grieve for me or anybody else you know whom have chosen to give our lives for you. Aside from the power-ups, you'll also find a self-destruct program in the form of a bomb weapon that can be used with Aaron's Contra Rifle. We've discovered that the Bacterions are vulnerable to apoptosis, being the mechanical cells they really are.

Max: "Apoptosis, huh? I can't quite remember from the top of my head if I ever heard of it..."

As you may or may not know, apoptosis contains cells that were created for the purpose of self-destruction. Penny, Dr. Crygor, Professor Ein and I worked alongside the Gradian scientists that commuted from planet Gradius and realized that since Red Falcon fused himself with Venom's soul, he had also acquired a weakness to those kinds of cells. See, when you inject the self-destruct program into the leader that's mass-producing the Bacterions nonstop, it'll set off a chain reaction in these cells; in other words, all Bacterions will self-destruct along with their space god of destruction in one blow! However, we can't guarantee it will work at 100% efficiency as this has never been done on a Bacterion God before, as far as Gradian history goes...but we believe in you. From here on out, we're entrusting everything to you, so please do your best...but try not to die like we did, okay? Thank you, and fare thee well...

Lord British: "Before the big explosion went off, Arctic was quick to jettison her Neo Contra Rifle, which Captain Ebara caught with his ship's built-in tractor beam and teleported it inside your Contra Cruisers at the last second. Do you see it?"Ami: "Now that you mention it, yes. I see it now."(She picks it up.)Lance: "Arctic must've figured one of us Contras would need it more than she does now. Good thing she thought ahead!"Ami: "I'll gladly take good care of it with my life. For Arctic, Blaze, and everybody else, let's finish this!"

[End BGM][Stage BGM: Alien Hive (Contra 4)]

You come here despite my warning that there's nothing you can do to stop us? Red Falcon's voice rang out from a long distance, albeit telepathically. Well that's just too gratifying not to take note of your presence, but it was your lucky survival and you know it! Don't even think you're safe just because your pathetic friends committed suicide to destroy my Giga Flare Ray, for your worst nightmares have been resurrected to make sure that you don't get to me alive! When you'll see them...let's just say that's for me and my loyal Hate Bombers to know, and you to find out. His malicious laughter echoed before fading into deep silence.

Bill: "We've stopped you before and we can do it again if it kills us, Red Falcon!"Me: "Look out, everyone! Hordes of organic Bacterions are heading our way like in the fourth level from Gradius V!"Yuffie: "I hope it doesn't mean we'll have to fight a big, icky-looking boss at the end..."Ami: "When it comes to organic levels like this one in the Gradius games, yes, we do have to fight something really disgusting."Yuffie: "I was afraid you'd say that..."

What started out at first as a resemblance to the cell stage from Gradius V quickly erupted into a hybrid with the Contra-themed alien stages from the past installments that Ami and I have played; then again, Red Falcon's calling the shots this time, so it didn't come as too much a surprise to any of us.

Flying through the cramped-up corridor of the Death Falcon MK-II, we blasted the Bacterions, organic or otherwise, all the while dealing with the cross-shaped cells with a round core. Upon destroying them, they spat out green, acidic shots which were just as deadly as the suicide bullets we've had to dodge before. This time, however, the projectiles can be destroyed, making our lives a little easier...at least until we came upon an alien wall with an eyeball-shaped core and two mouth-like turrets.

Ami: "Wait for the core to open up; that's its only vulnerable spot! Aaron and I went through this part in Contra 4!"Lance: "Just worry about shooting them all down, okay? Leave the piloting to me and Bill. You still with us, Aaron?"Me: "Of course, buddy. Alright, Bill, let's do this thing!"Bill: "One downed wall, comin' up! Knock, knock!"Lord British: "Heh heh, you sure know how to be enthusiastic, don't you?"Cheerful White: "They go way back, trust me."Cute Pink: "At least sometime after the Alien Wars..."Lord British: "Good to know. We'll keep the Bacterions at bay while you blow the walls open!"

As we destroyed the alien walls in order to advance deeper into the bio-mechanical planetoid, we alerted our Gradian squadmates to the presence of the large facehugger eggs. Preventing the scorpion-like abomination from latching into our faces was tough enough, but none could ever imagine the possibility of these things getting on our ships to break open the cockpit. Therefore, we wasted no time killing the facehuggers and avoiding their acidic blood as metal and acid do not mix. Sooner or later, we had no more alien walls with eyeball-shaped cores to destroy, which led to just one more obstacle: a huge wall of cells that can regenerate shortly after zapping them, a tradition of the cell stages in many Gradius games to date. If that weren't enough, we also had to tangle with huge worms that restricted our airspace.

Vic Viper T-301: "I don't think it needs to be said anymore, but these Bacterions can prove to be quite a handful from time to time. The fight is on, folks!"Yuffie: "I'm beginning to see something huge up ahead...oh, OH! Please tell me this isn't what I think it is!"Ami: "Just like I said, we have to fight a really disgusting boss."Me: "A huge alien heart, no doubt. Look!"Yuffie: "Blech! Okay...disgusting!"

Suddenly, we heard Metamorph Bomber's voice, albeit telepathically. It turned out not a moment too soon that he must have used a dark Smash Ball to take the form of the huge heart itself. Ahh, you've come this far, I see. I must commend your efforts, but you're too late! The Bacterions will live on under Lord Red Falcon's rule! Let's see if you can put a stop to what I've yet to throw at you...

While the alien heart itself didn't attack, it sported a wide variety of defense mechanisms. For one, a small pod circled around it, generating a force field to protect it from all attacks. The source of its own attacks, on the other hand, are the cellular tubes on the top and bottom of the corridor we were locked in; thus the heart released rotating bone pillars that fire lightning bolts in an effort to destroy our ships.

The moment the pillars stopped coming out, the alien heart released huge teeth-shaped tusks one at a time, forcing us to get out of the way again. Ami and I, on the other hand, were careful enough to get some shots in at the small pod encircling the heart before Bill and Lance had to veer us to safety. Then the bio-mechanical boss deployed a flaming snake-like creature, followed by shooting lasers from several eyes, and even creating small volcano openings that spew the green mucus we encountered earlier. Fearing for our lives, we took some damage as we barely averted death by dodging all of the alien heart's attacks. And finally after all the trouble, we got the opportunity to damage the heart itself by destroying the small pod during the bone pillar phase. Combining our laser shots, we finally destroyed Metamorph Bomber.

GWOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUGH!! he screamed as his alien heart form began pulsating rapidly while streams of green blood gushed out all over the lair in five places. LORD RED FALCON!! Then he detonated in a violent explosion the size of an atomic bomb like all the other Bacterion warships we blew up, killing him instantly.

[End BGM]

But just as we were safe once more, hordes of Option Hunters came flying all over us, stealing our Multiples along with our ships' powers at the same time. We could not even begin to chase them off, thus Captain Ebara had a plan. He didn't like where this was going, but it had to be done here and now if we are to reach Red Falcon alive. "We'll distract them, while you guys head on forth and take Red Falcon out with extreme prejudice! Good luck!"

Forced to separate from our Gradian reinforcements, it was up to the eight of us, still onboard the Contra Cruisers in one piece, to reach the very core of the Death Falcon MK-II. Ami held onto Arctic Bomber's Neo Contra Rifle, while I installed the self-destruct program into one of my Contra Rifle's two weapon slots.

[Fight BGM: Stage 8 Battleship Boss Theme (Hard Corps: Uprising)]

Just then, Red Falcon spoke telepathically to us again, Congratulations on making it past the first half of your trek to my lair, bipedal Earthlings...but I don't think you'll be needing your ships anymore. We had so much fun in the past, but you're starting to bore me, and I'm afraid playtime is over. You know defeating the Bacterions is impossible, but it seems you still don't get the point, not that I expected you to understand anyway. While he was talking, he teleported us to another alien-like corridor with his Bacterion powers, our Contra Cruisers mysteriously disappearing once more (much to White and Pink's confusion as this happened when Venom was still alive). The Giga Flare Ray you destroyed was merely a taste of what I have in store for your precious worlds, though I think it'd be more fun to kill you here and now before Sniper, Axe and I continue to do as we please. Should you live to destroy four holographic beasts I've generated with my Bacterion powers just for you, we'll be waiting. Don't disappoint me, Contras!

Yuffie: "White, Pink, Max and I may not be Contra material, but we can still kick your ass!"

My, aren't we a rude bunch! I suppose I'll have to separate you for a little attitude re-adjustment...

--------------------

And thus, we were all separated into different groups of two. First up, Ami and I were pitted against the giant turtle boss, Slave Beast Taka, from Contra: Shattered Soldier. He roared at us, releasing wasps from a nest mounted on top of his shell, along with some maggots from the nest on the bottom. Then he marched closer to us as we blasted the wasps and maggots to bits. He roared again, but this time he spat out some pink energy bursts from his mouth. We were struck a bit, but still able to return fire by destroying the wasp and maggot nests, enraging Slave Beast Taka. Just like in Shattered Soldier, he had no heart as his weakness, rather his head up front. Taking care to avoid more energy bursts along with a breath of fire from the beast's mouth, we pelted his head with gunshots and cartoon bombs until it was blown to guts, forcing him to turn around 180 degrees...

Ami: "Aaron, this is the part where he shows his absolutely disgusting side..."(As she finished, the alien tortoise revealed a large, humanoid face as his backside, much to her disgust.)Me: "I know his appearance is barf-inducing as ever, but we need to remain calm and dodge his deadly vomit when need be. Now switch to the Fire Whip and help me with the wasps and maggots he spits out."

We wasted not a second lying down flat on the ground just as Slave Beast Taka spewed out some acidic vomit from his mouth. We held our breaths for as long as we could, resisting the urge to vomit in disgust. As soon as the monster stopped barfing, we let go of our breaths and opened fire, only to remember a few seconds later that his second form's only vulnerable while he's barfing. Then he snuffed out some wasps from his nose, which we easily swatted without getting stung. Afterwards, he did his vomit attack again, only now we knelt instead of going prone. Aiming carefully, we attacked his open mouth repeatedly until his entire body began leaking green blood. Groaning in agony, Slave Beast Taka dropped dead on the ground, and we were both teleported out to another place...

--------------------

Meanwhile, Bill and Lance fought against a giant blue robot, also from Shattered Soldier, known as the Super Power Robot Yokozuna Jr., or Yokuzuna for short. They were situated on a holographic train as the robot came running forth to the side. With his superior hydraulic limbs he was able to catch up with no problem at all, prior to hovering a few feet above ground with jets beneath his feet. Next up, he did an elbow slam on the side of the train, knocking Bill and Lance over but miraculously not off the top, and followed up with his rocket fists that they were quick to jump over.

Bill: "Well, at least we were quick to grab our supply of power-ups before we got warped away. I'll hold onto them to the bitter end, though I think we'll need the Crash Missiles and Laser Beam."Lance: "Good thinking, Bill. I'll take the Crash, you use the Laser."

After picking the power-ups of their choice and dealing some damage to the left shoulder pad, Yokozuna Jr. flew over to the other side of the train, jogged up to it, and hovered above ground again for another go at slamming its side. This time, however, Bill and Lance were ready for it. They jumped as the elbow slam made contact with the train and hurled their distant attacks at his right shoulder pad until it was blown off, then they repeated the process on his left until both shoulder pads were totaled. Even so, he was only getting started, living up to his name as he flew over to the front of the train face-to-face and pushed against it to make it stop, knocking the Contras over momentarily. With incredible strength he lifted the train so he could shoot three energy blasts from his head in a 90 degree angle, but Bill and Lance were careful to counterattack his head with their own weapons.

Sensing this attack pattern would not suffice, the giant robot slammed the train back onto the tracks before transforming into his "jet mode." He flew onto the back of the engine car as it started up again, crouching down in robot mode to hurl some circular saws at the Contras. Not wanting to end up getting chopped off, Bill and Lance jumped over the razor blades and got onto the robot's head, pummeling his metallic "backpack" with their Crash Missiles and Laser Beam. But when Yokozuna Jr. finished throwing his circular saws, he grabbed the assailants and chucked them off his head before changing into his jet mode again to fly around and shove them completely off the train. Figuring how painful it must be to get knocked off like that, Bill and Lance laid down flat on the train face-first until Yokozuna Jr. stopped his attack and landed back on the engine car in robot mode, leaving his backpack vulnerable to the currently-equipped power-ups on their M16 machine guns. When they finally blew it off, the robot started to malfunction as he walked slowly towards them. Unfortunately for him, he did not see the train entering a tunnel when his upper body was utterly torn off by a holographic overpass, reducing him to nothing but his legs. Bill and Lance, however, wasted no time destroying the barely-functional legs to put an end to the intense battle for good. Afterwards, they were magically teleported out of the holographic arena to another place...

--------------------

Now it was Cheerful White and Max's turn. Deep within a holographic slaughterhouse, they were attacked by a huge, catterpillar-like butcher tank, its two cannons firing laser bursts and circular mines at them. White countered by throwing his bombs at the bottom cannon as he ran away from the butcher tank, while Max charged up his signature Hyper Plasma Bomb, a light blue ball of energy with small sparks of lightning around it. After about seven seconds, he threw the bomb at the upper cannon, destroying it instantly. Then the butcher tank gained its speed in an effort to shred its enemies, only for White and Max to quickly cling onto the scaffolding to save themselves.

Cheerful White: "Dang, this thing is super tough! I thought we'd be shredded for sure!"Max: "I know, but if we work together just like old times, we can destroy it and reunite with our friends!"

The bio-mechanical butcher tank attacked again by firing electrical beams upwards from four of its body-mounted cannons, followed by a wave of missiles coming in from both sides, out of nowhere. Thus, Max came up with a plan: he would destroy the cannons with his Hyper Plasma Bomb while White dealt with the missiles. Once they executed their plan together, the butcher tank was left with just its red pulsating core, covered by a metallic hatch, as its last-ditch effort. White and Max jumped down from the scaffolding and jumped over the meat pits so as to avoid the grinders hidden beneath them. Whenever the core opened up, all the butcher tank could do was fire a big red laser beam, and deploy either three bouncing saw blades or a rolling robot that opened up to get a couple shots in. Regardless of such, White and Max dodged the saw blades and combined their bomb powers to finally kill the butcher tank, causing them to be teleported out of the slaughterhouse to another place...

--------------------

The next thing Cute Pink and Yuffie saw when they were separated from their friends was a holographic undersea base suspended over a big lake, as though it had been flooded ahead of time. Then a large mutant fish with a human face up front appeared out of nowhere and swam around the water.

Standing on the three floating circular platforms, the young women jumped around to avoid the fish mutant's lunge attacks. The way he picked which platform to attack was simple but scary to take into account, shown by the bubbles floating beneath one of them. If Pink and/or Yuffie are on that platform, then they have to jump out of harm's way lest the mutant eat them alive.

Cute Pink: "Okay, that tears it! We've gotta bomb that abomination until he's dead so we can get back with my best friend and the others!"Yuffie: "My thoughts exactly, Pink! I say we aim for his open mouth!"

The fish mutant emerged from the water and started sucking in the platforms. Pink threw some of her cartoon bombs at him until he popped up with the platform closest to him resting on his head. Yuffie got in his face and sliced away with her Conformer before it was time to jump to the ceiling with Pink for dear life. Afterwards, they descended back on the platforms and took one last shot at the fish mutant while he leapt over them, until green blood oozed out of his body. But then he did a last-ditch effort to take the girls with him by lunging out from the water for the final time, sending them sprawling towards the water. Fortunately, they were unharmed as they swam to safety just before they got teleported out to another place...

[End BGM]

--------------------

[Boss BGM: Final Battle (Contra 4)]

Finally after all the madness we had just witnessed, we reunited in another alien corridor, this time facing off against Sniper Bomber, Axe Bomber and Volcano Bomber. Using the power of the Bacterions, they all fused together into a rock-hard version of Snipe-Axe, now equipped with Volcano's magma powers. "Your journey ends here with the new-and-improved Hate Bombers!" their voices shouted all at once. "But as for the four of you, you're not welcome here! This battle is just for us and the Contras, so scram!"

Wasting no time the combined Hate Bombers knocked Yuffie, White, Pink and Max away with little effort, though not before the ninja teen cast her following White Magic spells to aid us: Protect, Shell, and Haste. After all, the alien scumbags had no plans on making it any easier for us Contras.

"Lightning and hellfire will consume you!" Snipe-Axe floated to the center and unleashed a rotation of deadly electricity in six different places. I quickly equipped the Spread Gun onto my Contra Rifle's other weapon slot and fired away, aided as ever by Ami's bombs and the Neo Contra Rifle's Fire Whip. The lightning moved very slowly for us to weave out of danger, whether by climbing the walls and ceiling or otherwise. Then Ami switched back to the Heavy Machine Gun as the combined Hate Bombers surrounded themselves with glowing energy and launched a stream of lava bombs at us. Thinking quickly, we all triggered our 30-hit Konami Barriers with an incantation; Ami and I went first, followed by Bill and Lance. Miraculously, though, we avoided getting scorched by the magma blasts. Snipe-Axe jumped up and hung from the ceiling to launch a barrage of floating plasma balls, forcing us to duck underneath to prevent them from killing us.

"Fight back, you cowards!" Upon saying this, the combined Hate Bombers moved to the ground and kicked one bolt of plasma after another, followed by turning into a ball of magma and bouncing all over the place from corner to corner, which would have inflicted severe third-degree burns upon our bodies had it not been for the 30-hit Konami Barriers. Sometimes there was no chance of avoiding it but we took it as it came and retaliated with our holy-powered weapons. They may have combined themselves with each other, but luckily they couldn't maintain Volcano Bomber's near-impenetrable defense in his Volcano Golem form. But just to be on the safe side, Bill replaced the Crash Missiles with a Drill Shot, whereas Lance took the Ice Breath for his M16 machine gun to replace the Laser Beam. Once the Hate Bombers had had enough, their combined form became unstable, causing them to break apart into their normal selves once more.

Volcano Bomber: "Dammit! Even with our combined form we could not kill you...!"Axe Bomber: "It seems you're better than we expected..."Sniper Bomber: "But that's only the beginning! Playtime is over, Contras! HAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"

[End BGM]

With no other alternative, the three remaining Hate Bombers fused with the Bacterions, taking all four of us inside the body of a huge alien monster, reminiscent to that of Contra: Shattered Soldier. First off, we were shocked to see the possibility of them fusing together into this kind of alien form, but our trains of thought halted as we heard numerous voices emanating from out of nowhere, all telepathically.

Aaron...Ami...

Ami: "Wait a minute...did we just hear...General Shepherd's voice?"

Don't be such fools. Stop all this nonsense.

Me: "You sick bastard! But you're supposed to be dead!"

Another voice came up. You clearly have no idea just how magnificent the Bacterions can be.

Bill: "The arrogant ass himself, Carter J. Burke."

And another voice, but this time it resembled one of our allies for reasons unknown. Contra team, accept defeat.

Lance: "Jaguar?"

Give in. This is not sacrifice...it is evolution. Let us live as one, my friends, for there is no need to be hurt anymore.

Ami: "Not Blaze Bomber, too! STOP!"Lance: "What the hell's going on?"Bill: "I think I know. Because Red Falcon fused himself with Venom's soul, he's sharing the power of psychological warfare with the Hate Bombers."Me: "In other words, they now carry the ability to use memories from all indigenous things their so-called Bacterion God has absorbed on their behalf. All of that just to demoralize us, no surprise."

Everyone else is right, guys, came the impersonation of Arctic Bomber. There's no need to be blowing stuff up anymore...

Let us live together...together... said the apparitions of Jaguar, Jimbo and Sully.

Live...as one... finished Colonel Bassad's voice.

Me: "Ami, Bill, Lance...let's give Red Falcon and his Hate Bombers their present. Ignore the impersonations, and take 'em out with extreme prejudice!"

[A/N: It's surely been over five or so months since my last update, ain't it? Anyway, I have a little confession to make: not only did I have to deal with my overnight shift at Walmart at the time as well as try not to be so lazy...well, I'll admit when I only had one chapter left to conclude DCC #12 and the entire Diamond City Chronicles series, I suddenly cracked under pressure and put it on hiatus. And I wound up being a little too busy playing Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Mario Kart 8, etc., along with watching numerous cartoon shows I remember from back in the day. Never before have I been afraid of trying to write an epic conclusion, since I intended for my DCC series to go out in style. I was scared of making a bit of a mess during the making of this final chapter; I wanted it to be perfect enough to qualify as "epic."

But I had moment of clarity: Don't let the busy schedule take away my incentive to write. Take chances, make mistakes, and get creative like I usually do when writing stories and short fics alike. Bottom line, I hope you enjoy the conclusion and thanks for your continued patience and always stopping by to read what I have in store. Don't worry, I'm not leaving; it's just I thought it was time I put my DCC series to its pasture once and for all as planned.]

Chapter 26: The End

[Boss BGM: Harvest Yard (Contra 4)]

No sooner did the battle begin than the obvious fact that we were pitted against yet another alien heart, only that one was hanging from the ceiling with eyeballs all over in an unusual way, which alone made it look even more disgusting than the one from the other Contra installments to date. Four facehugger eggs flanked it on both organic walls, releasing the titular aliens every few seconds.

Come now, don't be foolish, came the apparition of Admiral Ares. We are here to show you the pure magnificence of the Bacterions.

Lance: "Don't even look at these impersonations, fellas, just return fire!"

The vision of Burke's face reappeared in front of us momentarily. Oh, but I'm afraid you don't understand why the Bacterions are not your enemies. Just think...

Lance: "Out, outta here! Scram!"

The red-clad Contra fired on the impersonation a few times until it vanished again. He and Bill held on to their M-16 rifles' Drill Shot and Ice Breath power-ups, while I put the Flamethrower in my Contra Rifle's empty weapon slot, making sure to hold on to the self-destruct program with my life. Once the process was done, I helped Ami incinerate the facehuggers crawling from the ceiling with both our flame weapons, making Bill and Lance's part of our fight easier. It took no later than 20 seconds to blow the alien heart to guts, filling a quarter of the chamber with green goo.

Just then, the images of our old enemies, Crasher and Blaster, showed up right before we were teleported to the next organic chamber. You're dam fools. Get smart and surrender! mocked Crasher's voice.

Blaster's voice came next, Hah! If you waste this chance, you're mere infidels. Both visions of the long-gone killers vanished without a trace as a giant centipede, or rather megapede according to Ami's interpretation, slithered about the innards on the floor, the walls, and ceiling. Lucky for us, its body was harmless; we only needed to avoid touching the acidic saliva on its mouth. We jumped on the megapede's body and unloaded on its head before it could close in and crush us. The force of its head being blown off caused it to retreat with sheer velocity back from whence it came.

No matter what you carbon-based lifeforms do, you cannot win, said the false image of Blaze Bomber.

Ami (confused): "Carbon-based lifeforms? What does that even mean, anyway?"Me: "It's best not to ponder it, Ami...But, we do know the real Blaze Bomber would never address us like that."

Seconds later, the apparition of Jaguar appeared once again for a brief moment. All of you...Join us...It's your only salvation...

Immediately after we were taken to the next chamber with two trilobite-like Beast Kimkohs coming out from the floor and ceiling to ambush us, another apparition unveiled itself in the form of Arctic Bomber. My friends...will you kill me, too?

Bill: "Pah! As if Arctic would ever show weakness. The Hate Bombers must think we'd be fooled by stupid-ass impersonations, but I say nay!"

Poor Bill Rizer...You're a sad creature without a clue, interrupted Colonel Bassad's likeness. You and your imbecilic accomplices don't even know who or what you're fighting for. You're much too powerful for your own good. They can't afford to have you around even if you succeed in wiping out the Bacterions...

Bill: "Argh, shut the hell up already! Aaron, Ami, Lance, ignore any impersonation that's coming out to demoralize our well-being! Just focus on the battle!"

Such pitiful, unruly children...All this talk about justice and peace, and stamping out terrorism...

The visions disappeared again, as if to order the Beast Kimkohs to kill us at once. We jumped over the one on the floor and kicked the other off the ceiling. All in all, since we've fought them before, they didn't pose too much of a threat besides rushing at high speed. They did, however, spew some spiked balls at us, taking away Bill and Lance's power-ups and the Flamethrower on my Contra Rifle. Luckily, we still had plenty of power-ups left in reserve, but we had no time to pull some more out of the satchel now. Our lives were at stake here, and I did not want to lose the self-destruct program before we get out of Sniper, Axe and Volcano's combined, monstrous form. As for Ami, she was still equipped with the Fire Whip through Arctic's Neo Contra Rifle, firing a barrage of charged shots as necessary until the Beast Kimkohs died down, leaving us to be teleported once again to yet another chamber.

We live...

We will evolve as one...

My friends...

You who will be the food of evolution...

Ami: "Stupid Bacterions! Haven't you ever heard of an old saying, 'Go suck a lemon'?!"

The next alien creature to face was a strange one indeed, bearing the appearance of a plant-based monster with two claw-like halves that were connected to the middle by its red core. It moved about like a slinky toy could in real life, eventually grabbing hold of both the floor and ceiling. Then it spat an unavoidable wave of napalm flame, which would have cooked us alive had we not grabbed on to the ceiling beforehand. Afterwards, we waited until the right moment to blast its red core, and took it out before it could do anymore damage. We were instantly teleported to one final chamber, only this time we're hanging from a bone-like grab bar on top.

Lance: "More imposters?! Ignore 'em!"Ami: "I know they're not real, but even so...it's tough."Me: "Keep it together, fellas! This should be the last form like in Contra: Shattered Soldier."Bill: "The form of Red Falcon's ugly hide, no doubt."

The apparition of the skeletal dragon/chimera hybrid fired bolts of energy from his head and red eyes, followed by the snake-like arms coming out from below to coil around the grab bar. Because we're hanging on for dear life with one hand and have to grip our rifles with the other, attempting to pull out a power-up would risk dropping our satchel into the bottomless pit by accident. Ami made it a priority to switch back to the Heavy Machine Gun to help us take out the eyes and snake arms, forcing the fake Red Falcon to spew little claw-like projectiles from the empty arm sockets and firing five energy bolts from his red core in spread fashion, followed by two blue energy shots that latch onto the grab bar for a while and were deadly to the touch. We jumped around again and focused our shots on the core until it burst apart.

Lance: "Now, Aaron! Fire that self-destruct program in there!"(He pointed at the apparition's open mouth.)

[End BGM]

"I'm on it!" I switched to the program bomb on my Contra Rifle and, with Ami's help, aimed carefully at the mouth. "Take THIS!" we shouted in unison as we fired the bomb straight into the mouth of the monster, setting off an explosion and a chain reaction that expelled us from Sniper Bomber, Axe Bomber, and Volcano Bomber's combined form at long last. We were back in the battle arena with the Hate Bombers severely damaged from the effects of the self-destruct program. If our guess is correct, they'll return to the real Red Falcon and attempt a last-ditch effort by fusing with him to regain power, which would then cause the program bomb to spread all over him as a side effect.

We could only pray our assumptions were correct, because if they're not, we'd be in serious trouble...

Henceforth, we gave one last chase towards the weakened Hate Bombers by following them through a pit, leading us further into the center of the Death Falcon MK-II, getting a little hotter as we went. The moment we arrived, we saw ourselves in what looked to be hell itself: a fiery pit of eternal unpleasantness, albeit with alien innards for a floor. Red Falcon laid dormant before us in his true form, awakened only by Sniper, Axe, and Volcano's beckoning: "Our power...Use our power, Lord Red Falcon!" Then they sacrificed their bodies by jumping inside his mouth, using the last of their newly-sought Bacterion powers to fuse with him, therefore making him stronger than before. Red Falcon now bore the power of Volcano Bomber's hellish, super-heated magma aside from the Five Dastardly Bombers' signature attacks he absorbed unto himself last year at the end of World War III, while the snake-like arms' alien heads were replaced with Sniper Bomber and Axe Bomber's faces, only as ugly-looking as the snake heads. But because they were afflicted with the self-destruct program, Red Falcon felt a brief moment of sickness...and all better?!

Red Falcon: "Ooogh...I don't know what you put in my loyal Hate Bombers, but I'm afraid you will have to do a lot better than that!"Ami: "Wait a minute...shouldn't the self-destruct program be working by now?"Me: "It should be, but...no...it's as Blaze Bomber feared: it wasn't 100% guaranteed to work on a Bacterion God. At any rate, Red Falcon must be suppressing it!"Bill: "Dammit! This is bad! If he kills us now and makes his clean getaway, he'll use his new Bacterion powers to create an antibody!"Red Falcon: "I could...or maybe I won't need to. You see, when I absorbed Venom's soul, I also took in the Chrono Crystal's energy, tampering with it in order for my Bacterion powers to be accepted. Not only would I have the ability to go back in time and stop your kinsmen from having ever existed in this universe, I can also see into the future. Don't deny your destiny, for you are already doomed to be labeled as the ultimate threat to the galaxy just like me. You, Aaron and Ami, who hold the one concern in your minds that someday in the future, you would be chased out of your home, forced to rely on such dangerous technology just to survive."Me: "Ami and I would never entertain such thoughts, ever!"Ami: "And we're not terrorists like you! Our holy power drives evil away!"Red Falcon (ignoring me and Ami): "You, Bill Rizer, who may be the hero of the present, yet there exists a time in which you will be called a villain...the one who killed your fellow Contras in cold blood and almost destroyed Earth."Bill: "Hell no! I would never do things like that, even if it supposedly happened in that one installment!"Ami: "Yeah! The power-corrupt Triumvirate secretly stole the Relic of Moirai and had Lance assassinated for discovering the truth with Bill as their scapegoat!"Me: "They also blew up about 80% of the world population just to erase all traces of evidence related to the alien invasions, and covered everything up with a phony story about Bill going crazy!"Red Falcon: "Still in denial, but it's of no concern to me. And finally, you, Lance...the very same one who became desperate enough to survive revived yourself by injecting an alien cell into your bloodstream, turning you into an extremist of a dictator in the process."Lance: "No...that's not me. It can never be me!"Red Falcon (cackling): "Oh, but it's a possibility. Why don't you find out for yourselves and then see if I lie? Behold your dark sides whom I shall summon before thee: your future selves!"

What appeared to be a hybrid of a man and a machine at first glance, stepped forth and spoke in my voice. We've lost their trust. The people are afraid of us...Power corrupts after all, and who has more power than the Contras?

Another hybrid of man and machine walked in too, only it resembled one of the armored Zero Men (notably, again, from Bomberman: Act Zero). That one was decidedly female as it spoke with Ami's voice, yet it carried no emotion whatsoever. Do you think there's a single being on Earth, Bomber, or Gradius who doesn't despise us?

Next up was an evil man in a black military uniform with a red armored breastplate on the torso. While it was meant to resemble Bill in a bad way, Ami and I recognized him all too well as Master Contra from Neo Contra. We had no place in today's society, so we threw away our holy power to make way for what we've hated in ages past. Now, we are the never-ending desire for conquest...Aggression incarnate...Power that exceeds all...Pure destruction.

And finally, as Lance feared, there came an evil version of himself in a green military uniform, whose mindset was that of a fascist dictator. With the alien cell of Red Falcon in every single strand of our DNA, we now have the power to cleanse all sinners that oppose us with the flames of judgment! They have killed our loved ones, and now we return the favor tenfold!

[End BGM][Danger BGM: Black Viper (Contra 4)]

Red Falcon: "Oh, and before I forget...did I mention the Giga Flare Ray you destroyed earlier? Well here's the spoiler: we wanted your pathetic friends to sacrifice their lives just so you could get inside my Death Falcon MK-II, let alone penetrate my last line of Bacterion defense! Now it's just the four of you, and four of us combined into one, and four of your future selves. Face it, you're all alone with no support from your friends anymore, scared to the bone that you'll eventually be driven into madness through arrogance and paranoia. Scared that everyone in the universe will fear your holy power and brand you as the next-gen terrorists just like me. Scared that they would dare think you want to BE ME! HA HA HA HA HA!!"Me: "No...NO! NOOO! You lie, alien bastard!"Ami: "We're not like you! We're nothing like you!"Bill: "And we would never kill one of our own!"Lance: "Nor turn into fascist dictators!"Red Falcon: "Gah, ha ha ha! Go ahead, blow away your counterparts and keep ignoring your own dark future; there's nothing you can do to prevent it from coming completely true!"(Our dark selves turned into spirits and flew right into our bodies, bringing us one step closer to our demise as we screamed in pain!)Red Falcon: "Humans have always fascinated me ever since I arrived on your planet in the year 1603, and they still do - what with the way they get into petty squabbles and threaten to kill each other in all these wars just to express their desire for ultimate power. As a matter of fact, I LOVE it when they show off their greed, arrogance, paranoia, and even hatred; once they have enough power, all they ever want to do is blow each other up. And yet you still insist on destroying me on their behalf. What are you still fighting for? ...Ehh, doesn't matter. Because of my fusion with Venom's spirit, I'm a Bacterion God now, and like any other Bacterion God those Gradian worms had been fighting for who knows how long, even if you do kill me through the use of whatever you put in my Hate Bombers, my earthly body will split into numerous fragments and spread across the universe. In due time, I'll come back again and again, and that goes double for Sniper Bomber, Axe Bomber, and especially Volcano Bomber! You and your kinsmen will be cursed to forever continue the neverending struggle as puppets on a string, for you can't ever again exist without the four of us! Justice and peace throughout the galaxy, finding new habitable worlds for your kind... All a mere child's dream, so easily shattered by petty hatred and violence! But anyway, enough about that, so what do you say we have some fun for old time's sake..."

[End BGM]

The evil alien warmonger laughed maliciously as we continued crying out in agony, the dark illusions of ourselves weakening us on the inside. We could only shut our eyes and admit our ultimate defeat as Red Falcon's words sank in even deeper. No more justice...

...Just then, something came to us on the inside, as if to grant the opportunity to survive one last battle, even if it meant we may not come back. That sudden feeling in which somewhere, all our friends - alive or not - are urging us to never give in to such a grim fate. We growled again, got up and stretched our arms out to overcome the dark illusions, causing them to dissipate. It was from this moment forth, in spite of Red Falcon's unsettling words, that we wouldn't FREAKIN' HAVE IT.

Me: "Red Falcon! I don't care if we or our kinsmen have to follow you and your three Hate Bombers to the end of time. You're just abusing what's left of the Chrono Crystal in your favor to make it look like we're fated to turn evil!"Ami: "We'll still be here, ready to take you down! Alien scumbags beware!"Red Falcon: "Oh, you mean with that self-destruct program you injected? Hmph, didn't think I wasn't able to figure that one out eventually, did you?"Bill: "We don't give a dam anymore. If we must sacrifice ourselves to execute the program and end the Bacterions' reign of terror forevermore...so be it!"Lance: "Let our lives fuel the holy power that ends yours, alien bastard!"Bill: "Aaron, Ami, Lance, it's time to take out the space trash now! LET'S ROCK!!"Lance: "Ready and willing as always, ol' buddy! We beat him and his Hate Bombers before, we can do it again or die trying!"Red Falcon: "Stating the obvious will get you nowhere, puny Contras! I can't think of a day I haven't woken up from being dead, with the thought of devouring you! That sanctimonious image you four display proudly has fooled everybody, except me...because I. KNOW. EVIL!"

He kicked things off by pulling us closer to him with a magnetic force, obviously derived from Magnet Bomber. Then he punched us, followed by a fire blast (derived from Golem Bomber) that split into three in a wide arc, and even the "Heart Bombs" that originated from Evil Pretty Bomber. After we were down momentarily, he mercilessly launched a salvo of Xenomorph head-shaped missiles and fired an electrical laser beam from his eyes, inflicting heavy damage and destroying most of our power-up icons we still had in reserve. Luckily, we managed to save two Spread Guns, one Laser Beam and the Homing Missiles.

Ami: "This is our last shot; afterwards, we're on our own without the power-ups. Bill, Lance, the Spread Gun power-ups are yours. Aaron, take the Laser Beam and Homing Missiles."Me: "Okay. Let's make it count, fellas, and keep that Neo Contra Rifle smokin' for Arctic's sake!"

Aside from the enemy attacks based upon the Five Dastardly Bombers, Red Falcon spat out some axe-shaped plasma bursts from his two head-shaped arms, followed by a large superheated flak shell from his mouth. They were not easy to dodge, seeing how weakened we had become at that point, but it didn't stop us from trying to hold on to the last of our Contra power-ups. I tried destroying the axe bursts with my Homing Missiles only to no avail, leading me to assume the obvious in which they were indestructible. However, Ami was able to destroy the flak shell with Arctic's Neo Contra Rifle's Fire Whip, and for good reason too: if it had hit the ground, it might have unleashed an unbearable torrent of magma derived from Volcano Bomber's powers - or so we theorized upon noticing how superheated the flak shell looked.

Red Falcon: "I haven't had this much fun since the day I brought in the Five Dastardly Bombers to carry out my reign of terror! But playtime is over! Here, my loyal brethren: dinner time!"(On his command, the Xenomorphs came rushing in.)Bill: "I figured you wouldn't go a single round without getting your Xenomorphs involved!"

The final battle continued to rage on, both oppositions going at each other with full power, weapons blazing and acidic blood gushing out of the Xenomorphs' destroyed bodies. We cared not a bit anymore if Red Falcon stripped us of our power-ups nor how much damage we constantly sustained. It was all a matter of survival to the very end, a mere matter of time before we can execute the self-destruct program and destroy all the remaining Bacterions infesting the Bomber Nebula. But even after we blew his arms and head off, his brain magically regenerated them all with little effort. It was by that moment which our holy power alone might not be strong enough to destroy him this time.

But what if we were to combine it with...no, it's not possible, we thought. Light and dark do not mix well as neither of us had ever had the opportunity to test that theory. Nor did Blaze, Penny, Dr. Crygor and Professor Ein ever think such a thing; for all we knew, any attempt to mix Red Falcon's dark energy with our holy power in order to defeat him forever would run the fatal risk of overloading our weapons and destroying our bodies simultaneously.

How do we know all of this if we never tested it in the first place?

Simple: we don't know it until we try.

Perhaps if we absorb the evil beast's dark attacks with our bodies and channel them through our holy-powered gadgets, we just might have a chance. It was all a matter of accepting our fate, like it or not, and we didn't like sacrificing ourselves or one another just to rid the universe of Red Falcon's reign of terror...but if it was the only way to guarantee it, nothing could ever make us any happier than to see that our surviving allies live to reshape planets Earth and Bomber, and Primus Star after the Bacterion outbreak or rather the Interdimensional War as everyone dubbed it.

Me: "Bill, Lance...are we really doing this?"Ami: "Yeah. I mean...what if..."Bill: "No, don't even say it, Ami. Somewhere, our four allies who accompanied us alongside Captain Ebara's crew are still alive. I can feel it in my heart, and I'm sure you do too."Lance: "Same here with me. As our last request, we'd like Yuffie, Cheerful White, Cute Pink, and even Max, to recover our Contra Cruisers, jet on outta here...and look after all our true friends..."Bill: "They are our future... And so are 9-Volt and Phoebe."Me: "...Alright. Let's do this."Red Falcon (cackles): "What're you blabbering about? You come all this way into the world of the living, descended from your accursed ancestors, declare yourselves the saviors of man and Bomber alike. Well, I think it's time you died for your sins, and I'm gonna make sure it happens right here, right now, so to quote Sniper Bomber: KISS YOUR ASSES GOOD-BYE!"

Over our dead bodies, we barked in retaliation! Each of us stood up whilst ignoring all the pain we had endured one last time, holding our holy-powered gadgets for as long as we could. Channeling our remaining energy, we began absorbing each and every one of Red Falcon's attacks with our bodies. First he dragged us close to himself with the magnetic pull, followed by a stream of flames, then the Heart Bombs; next came the Xenomorph head-shaped missiles and the electrical laser beams, and finally the superheated flak shell. My Contra Rifle, Ami's Bomberman Watch, and Bill and Lance's M16 machine guns were about to hit overload, and the very moment we finished charging up our one time-only final attack, out came a large energy beam mixed with light and dark colors emanating from our bodies! Red Falcon was hit, and eventually he and his fused Hate Bombers fell along with the four of us...

[End BGM]

Red Falcon (screams): "GRRAAAAUUUUUUGH!! My own power, combined with theirs against me?!? This...this is IMPOSSIBLE!! I CURSE THE DAY I EVER MET THOSE INSUFFERABLE CONTRAS!!!"

His body exploded apart with green blood gushing out and the Death Falcon MK-II going critical, and not a moment too soon did everything vanish in a white blinding light. The self-destruct program had indeed worked, resulting in the end of Red Falcon, Sniper Bomber, Axe Bomber, Volcano Bomber, Venom's soul and all of the invading Bacterion forces...

--------------------

[Ending BGM: Staff Roll (Gradius V)]

EPILOGUE - THREE HOURS LATER...

"White...Pink...fellas...wake up!" came 9-Volt's voice.

"You're okay!" blurted Phoebe. "...But what happened to the original Four Contras?"

White, Pink, Yuffie and Max were unconscious, for the last thing they remembered was the Death Falcon MK-II on the verge of exploding, and also the two Contra Cruisers reappeared in autopilot mode and took them to safety. Next to them was the heavily-injured Bahamut, who had voluntarily let go of his bond with 5-Volt so that she would not die in case he was defeated in battle. The Hallowed Father to all Eidolons knew the big risks throughout the rest of the Interdimensional War, but did not want 9-Volt to lose his mom like his ancestor Rydia lost hers.

Bahamut: "The benevolent goddess Mihaele was able to keep me alive long enough to bring Aaron, Ami, Bill and Lance's bodies back...but I fear their holy-powered weapons are no more."5-Volt: "You mean they're really...dead this time...?"Yuffie: "No, they can't be dead! What're we gonna do without them?"Max: "I guess they wanted the best for all of us..."Cheerful White: "Really?"Cute Pink: "For real?"Bahamut: "Do not grieve for me or them. It was by your prayers that kept them in existence by a miracle. As the Hallowed Father to all Eidolons, I grant Aaron, Ami, Bill and Lance one more chance to live alongside you..."(Shedding a tear from his eye, he laid dormant on the ground as it fell onto our half-dead bodies, miraculously bringing us back.)Bahamut: "Always remember... While evil can never be truly vanquished from the universe, never give up your efforts to oppose it in such times of chaos. Much like the life cycle, the forces of good shall always live on as long as you believe what is truly right..."

The benevolent dragon slowly vanished into light, intent on leaving the fate of planets Earth and Bomber in the care of us Contras and our friends. We woke up despite feeling uneasy about the sacrifice we made.

Me: "We can never do something like that again...because if we did, then chances are...we might not be able to come back anymore."Ami: "Still, so many casualties... Arctic, Blaze, the remnants of the Colonial Marines, King Billy Bling...and Captain Ebara's team...so many noble sacrifices..."9-Volt: "Um...guys? Up there!"Phoebe: "What is it, 9-Volt?"(We all looked up and saw a small ship with a flashing red light.)Lance: "Hey, could that be...no, it couldn't...!"King Billy (via radio): "Hey, you're all okay! Whew, that was tough as hell...I think I'll step down and live my mellow life for reals this time."Arctic Bomber (via radio): "You didn't really think we'd die, didja?"(Bill gave a weak smile in response.)Bill: "...What's up, fellas?"Lance: "Hey, uh, tell me it ain't so, buddy. You knew about all this?"Blaze Bomber (via radio): "I believe he knew it right. It was by a miracle that Weyland-Yutani's space station's command bridge doubled as an escape pod in case of emergency. In other words, the three of us - along with Jaguar, Jimbo and Sully - lived to see the end of Red Falcon and the evil Bacterions."(The escape pod landed on the ground next to us, and out came its occupants.)Blaze Bomber: "Say...what happened to Bahamut? Wasn't he helping us a while ago?"Ami: "He did...and voluntarily gave his life so we could live. Oh, and don't worry about 9-Volt's mom. She's okay; Bahamut knew his time would come, so he let go of his bond with her. I didn't think it was possible for an Eidolon to free itself of the summoner's call, but...I truly believe he wants all of us to live."Arctic Bomber: "I guess so, but now we're stranded with no way to return home. All our space colonies are destroyed, planet Bomber and Primus Star are in a bad shape, and...your holy weapons! They're..."(Ami hands Arctic back her Neo Contra Rifle.)Ami: "Not entirely. We'll just have to start over and help rebuild civilization on these two planets, and even Earth as well."Me: "Yeah...it won't be easy, but it'll be worth the effort. And I bet Ebara's team survived the outcome of the Interdimensional War as well. Everyone, thanks for always believing in us Contras..."

Planet EarthBacterions: ExpungedDamage Level: CEven though Earth suffered the least amount of damage throughout the Interdimensional War as opposed to the four planets in the Bomber Nebula, the space defense bases' security was compromised. Regardless, the civilians of Earth survived largely unscathed thanks to the efforts of the Contras and the Colonial Marines. In light of the current circumstances, providing materials to the bases for reconstruction and the preservation of public safety on the planet and its subsequent space colonies are our top priorities.

Primus StarBacterions: ExpungedDamage Level: APrimus Castle was at the center of the Bacterion conflict and suffered terrible damage; however Queen Millian and her people were able to evacuate and avoid harm despite local resistance forces having suffered terrible casualties. Additionally, historical losses are immeasurable as landmarks across the planet suffered during the battles as its people had never before encountered the Bacterions' advanced weaponry, if not too advanced beyond that of Bagular's Garaden Empire. It is imperative to research and implement an aid program as soon as possible.

Kanatia StarBacterions: ExpungedDamage Level: BIndeed Kanatia Star is a volcanic planet, and while the damage level wasn't as severe as with Primus Star, the Bacterions destroyed most of its ruins during their mission to turn it into one of the Organic Fortresses as part of their assimilation progress. The disposal of their abandoned outposts has been deferred to a later date. Gaining a quick and comprehensive understanding of the region is difficult because of the complex topography as well as the fact that Kanatia Star's desert-like climate currently makes it impossible for human colonization. Therefore, this planet will be placed under observation.

Mazone StarBacterions: ExpungedDamage Level: CLouie's home planet took little to no damage, but the Mazone Dome was severely damaged by the Bacterions and requires repairs and improvements to all systems in order to ensure the planet's protection from any future invasions. In particular, the warning system and ancillary equipment is in dire need of being reevaluated.

Planet BomberWeyland-Yutani forces: DestroyedBacterions: ExpungedDamage Level: A+Weyland-Yutani's allegiance with Dr. Venom and obsession with the Bacterions' bio-mechanical weaponry caused a lot of problems for the Contras and the Colonial Marines, resulting in the deaths of many innocent lives throughout the Bacterion outbreak. In fact, planet Bomber was forced to abandon many of its duties as the center of the Bomber Nebula. An interim government has been established and is operating from what remained of Venom's space fortress in its moon, Bomber Star. Citizens are beginning to return to residential blocks from areas that suffered comparatively light damage, but the majority of the city is in dire need of goods and public order. A plan to quickly bring aid and relief to these areas must be formulated.

Bomber StarBacterions: ExpungedDamage Level: NonePlanet Bomber's capital city has been annihilated, so a temporary governing body has been established under the Colonial Marines' supervision as soon as Venom and his Bacterion Empire were wiped out. The administration will take charge in converting his impregnable fortress into a defense outpost with an early warning system to help better the protection of the Bombermen and women. Cheerful White, Cute Pink and Max have been assigned to supervise the entire project until its completion, from which they will then return to active duty on planet Bomber as the defenders of justice and peace.

Death Falcon MK-IIBacterions: ExterminatedRed Falcon Empire: DestroyedDamage Level (Invading Force): A+The collapse of the enemy homeworld has been confirmed. The self-destruct program bomb has effectively halted communication to all Bacterions, and reports from invaded areas describe the annihilation of the Bacterions at a "cellular level." This ends all anti-Bacterion operations in the Bomber Nebula. The Contras have survived by a miracle thanks to Mihaele and Bahamut's successful rescue; however Captain Ebara's crew's survival remains in question for the time being. Additionally, it was revealed that the malicious Red Falcon was behind everything, having manipulated Weyland-Yutani by taking full advantage of their obsession with Bacterion technology to ensure his resurrection from the dead. In the end, his fusion with the soul of a Bacterion God, that being Venom, proved to be his ultimate downfall at the hands of the Contras and the program bomb. It is hard to believe, but before the Contra movement caught on, intergalactic terrorism was a major problem up to this day. We must honor Bahamut's wish by helping to rebuild planets Earth and Bomber and Primus Star, in addition to spreading our message about justice and peace. It's up to all of us to stamp out hatred and terrorism.

[End BGM]

"Contra" is the name given to those elite warriors with an indomitable spirit and superior guerrilla tactics.

DEDICATED TO THE CONTRA AND BOMBERMAN FRANCHISES AND THEIR FANBASES THEREIN.